Duke freshman Harry Giles, teammate Grayson Allen, among players college coaches most want on their team

Even though he hasn’t played a game, Duke freshman Harry Giles, a Winston-Salem native, is among the players NCAA coaches would most want on their team, according to a CBSsports survey.

The website had reporters ask coaches their opinions on several topics during the July evaluation period, where coaches were recruiting high school talent. One of the questions was “if you could pick any Division I player and put him on your team for this season, which player would you pick.”

Grayson Allen was No. 1 with 13 percent of the vote, followed by Washington freshman Markelle Fultz (12 percent) and Giles (10). Duke’s Jayson Tatum was tied for seventh with five percent of the vote. N.C. State’s Dennis Smith (12th, 3 percent) and Clemson’s Jaron Blossomgame (T13, 2 percent) were also among ACC players represented.

Giles, who played most of his high school career at High Point’s Wesleyan Academy, sat out nearly his entire senior season with a knee injury. It was the second of his career.

One coach said of Giles in the CBSsports article: "I think Harry Giles is as good of a talent as there has been out of high school in a long time. He will have a Chris Webber/Kevin Garnett type of a career ... if healthy."

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Duke freshman Harry Giles, teammate Grayson Allen, among players college coaches most want on their team."