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Throughout the summer, USA TODAY High School Sports has published a series called “60 for ’16” highlighting 60 members of the Class of 2016 who we will be watching in the coming 12 months. The final 20 athletes will be presented in order from No. 20 to No. 1 over four weeks. The athletes were selected by the USA TODAY HSS staff.
To see previous entries, click here
ATHLETE PROFILE:
Name: Harry Giles III
School: Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)
Sport: Boys Basketball
Position: Power Forward
Heading into his senior year, Giles is already the No. 1 player in the ESPN 100, but come June 2017 he’s most likely going to be the No. 1 overall player taken in the NBA Draft, according to his peers.
That kind of appointment by his teammates and opponents is all the perspective you need on why Giles came in at the No. 1 spot in our “60 for ’16.”
“He really wants to be the best,” Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said. “That’s probably the thing I love the most about him; his work ethic is just crazy.”
Giles will head to Oak Hill in a week to start school; a few weeks back he announced that he would transfer from Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.) to the hoops powerhouse to closeout his high school career.
“Oak Hill is the program you dream about playing for when you’re coming up,” Giles said. “I’ve always wanted to play there. A lot of great players have come through there.”
RELATED: Giles transfers to Oak Hill
That’s an understatement, Smith has coached countless NBA All Stars and even an NBA MVP (Kevin Durant).
Still, none of the past greats were on the same level as Giles, at least according to the national rankings.
Giles, who stands 6-foot-10 and weighs 230 pounds, will be the first No. 1 overall player to play at Oak Hill during the Smith era, which spans more than 30 years.
“I’m just ready to get down there and work on nothing but books and ball,” Giles said. “That’s it. I am gonna work like I’ve never worked before. I want to win a national championship. That’s the main goal. I’m ready to put in work.”
He certainly did that last season at Wesleyan when he averaged 23 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks a game to lead the Trojans to a 30-5 record and a state independent schools 3A runner-up finish. As a result, Giles was the only underclassmen named to the American Family Insurance ALL-USA first team.
Last month, Giles finished up a dominant summer on the AAU circuit with Team CP3 (N.C.), averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds a game on the prestigious Nike Elite Youth Basketball League where he led his team to the Final Four of the Peach Jam, which most consider the top AAU event of the summer.
His blend of inside-outside dominance make him virtually unstoppable.
RELATED: Giles is Oak Hill’s first No. 1 player
Naturally, that kind of production has every major college program in the country banging on his front door, but Giles has it narrowed down to five: Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Wake Forest and Kansas.
While he’s got no clue where he’ll ultimately end up, Giles is sure about what type of situation he wants to end up in; which, ironically, will only make the decision harder.
“I just want to go somewhere that I can win and learn a lot,” Giles said. “Like I said, I’m all about getting better every day so that’s the most important part for me. But with the list of schools that I’ve got I can’t go wrong with any of them. It’ll be tough; it’s a good problem.”
Follow Jason Jordan on Twitter: @JayJayUSATODAY