Duke freshman Harry Giles is headed to the NBA, the school announced Tuesday.
The 6-foot-10 Giles, who missed two seasons in high school because of a pair of torn ACLs, sat out the first 11 games this year because of a third knee injury. He was ranked as the No. 1 player in the freshman class by ESPN.
Duke spokesman Cory Walton says Giles plans to hire an agent.
"Playing in the NBA has been my goal for as long as I can remember, and I'm so excited to take the next step in that journey," Giles said in a statement issued through the school. "My time at Duke has been a dream come true."
HG. NBA next. #TheBrotherhood forever. 🔵😈🏀 pic.twitter.com/CQRBbm3iks
— Duke Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 28, 2017
"With his uplifting personality and love for the game, Harry Giles has been a joy to coach," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement. "He is only beginning to scratch the surface of how good he can be on the basketball court. Harry has an exciting NBA future ahead of him and we are here to fully support him as a member of our brotherhood."
Giles averaged 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game this season. He becomes the 11th player in Duke history to declare for the draft after his freshman season. Teammate Jayson Tatum was the 10th last week. Each of the previous nine were picked in the first round, with eight of those going in the lottery.
Multiple NBA executives told ESPN that Giles is likely to be taken in the latter half of the first round, and ESPN Insider Chad Ford ranks Giles as the 14th-best prospect in the NBA draft.
Also Tuesday, Duke said backup forward Sean Obi will transfer after the semester ends. He did not play this season, and he averaged just 2.7 minutes per game in the 2015-16 season.
