Harry Giles III, the No.1 ESPN ranked high school player in the country, announced today he’ll be making the move to Oak Hill Academy for his senior season. In a note posted on Twitter, Giles thanked Keith Gatlin, his coach at Wesleyan Christian Academy, for everything he has done for him and also thanked his former high school for giving him the opportunity at a great education.
In his junior season at Wesleyan Christian Academy, Giles posted an impressive stat line of 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks a game. His all-around production helped lead the Trojans to a 30-5 record and runner-up for the State Independent Schools Class 3A title. Giles is talented on both sides of the ball, is gifted with tremendous athleticism, and although he’s already the top player in his class he’s getting even better as time goes on.
Giles will be joining an Oak Hill Academy team loaded with talent. His teammates will include 25th ranked Matt Coleman, 36th ranked Mario Kegler, and 37th ranked Braxton Blackwell. The team is also not short of experience when it comes to the coaching position as Steve Smith, the head coach of Oak Hill, has coached twenty-eight McDonald’s All Americans and seventeen of his former players have went on to play in the NBA. It’ll be interesting to see if having so many top 100 players on the same team who like to score will have a negative impact on these player’s rankings if they end up getting fewer opportunities with the ball than they had originally expected.
He recently cut down his list of possible colleges to Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, Wake Forest and Kentucky but Duke is largely considered the favorite to land the five-star prospect after Duke’s recent commitment from his close friend Jayson Tatum. One thing is certain though; whoever lands a commitment from Giles will be getting a high impact player for one college season as he seems destined for the NBA. Harry Giles III, already projected as a possible first pick in the 2017 NBA draft, has put himself in a great position to follow in the footsteps of so many great Oak Hill alumni that have come before him such as Carmelo Anthony and Rajon Rondo. His decision today is just an early step in what promises to be an exciting basketball journey!
