The number one player in the country has trimmed his list.
Harry Giles, the top basketball player in the 2016 recruiting class, took to Twitter to announce his top five schools. His lists consists of Wake Forest, and then the four "Blue Bloods," Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and Kentucky. This means that UNLV, Syracuse, and Ohio State have been removed from consideration, though they were never really in consideration in the first place. While he has announced a top 5, it is believed by most that it is primarily a two-horse race between Wake Forest and Duke.
Top 5 Schools No Order North Carolina Duke Kentucky Kansas Wake Forest
— Harry Giles (@TheReal_HG3) July 20, 2015
Giles is an elite talent, and the most likely candidate to be the #1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. There's no denying he would be a major haul for any of the schools in his top five, but his commitment would mean the most to Danny Manning and Wake Forest. A commitment from Giles would immediately turn the program back to prominence, and could be the catalyst for Wake Forest to become an elite program under Danny Manning.
Wake Forest has a number of things going for itself in the recruitment of Giles. Giles is from Winston-Salem, plays on Wake Forest legend, Chris Paul's AAU team, Wake's coach was a #1 NBA Draft pick, and has a proven history of coaching big men. That's not to mention the Brandon and Randolph Childress angle. Unfortunately, Duke has been very successful at landing their top targets, and they are coming off a national championship. Despite the glamour of Duke's program, I do think Wake Forest has a legitimate chance to land Giles.
Last week, Wake Forest made the final six for 5-star point guard, Dennis Smith, Jr. A commitment from both Smith and Giles would make Wake Forest legitimate national title contenders in 2017.
Please stay tuned to Blogger So Dear for the latest news regarding Wake Forest basketball recruiting.
