Never Never Land: Giles Didn't Come Close to Becoming Duke's First NC A-A
March 21st, 2017 - 21:37
What was he thinking? The devil is in the details, but a 3.8 or 3.9 gpa doesn't appear to be in Harry Giles' Duke wheelhouse. After playing the equivalent of 6 1/4 full NBA games in his only season in Krzyzewskiville, Giles "feels" he is ready to wheel and deal in the NBA. He probably should have crossed the threshold into KnowSomethingVille to discern what happened to a striking number of big men who left for the pros after just one collegiate campaign. Among recent one-'n-done big men posting NBA scoring averages comparable to what Giles did in college include Deyonta Davis (Michigan State/1.7 ppg in one NBA season), Cheick Diallo (Kansas/3.6 in one season), Henry Ellenson (Marquette/1.4 in one season), Grant Jerrett (Arizona/2 in one season), Kevon Looney (UCLA/2.5 in two seasons), Chris McCullough (Syracuse/3.8 in two seasons), Daniel Orton (Kentucky/2.8 in three seasons), Diamond Stone (Maryland/1.4 in one season), Noah Vonleh (Indiana/3.7 in three seasons) and Stephen Zimmerman (UNLV/1.2 in one season).
Brandon Ingram (Kinston, NC) came close to becoming an All-American selection last year but fell short; especially following a 10-turnover outing at Louisville. This campaign, Giles (Winston-Salem, NC) was hyped as a freshman phenom but averaged an anemic 3.9 ppg and 3.8 rpg while contributing only nine assists in 26 games after incurring a knee injury. Neither Giles nor Ingram achieved a distinction generated by no other A-A in the school's illustrious history.
This season, Ohio product Luke Kennard became the 39th different individual to become an All-American for Duke (28 under coach Mike Krzyzewski). Incredibly, none of them spent their formative years in any of North Carolina's 100 counties and can be counted as in-state recruits. It doesn't seem possible, but North Carolina laid a Blue Devils' goose egg while states such as Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma and Oregon contributed to their list of All-Americans.
By contrast, the North Carolina Tar Heels had in-state talent account for multiple-year All-Americans such as Phil Ford, Antawn Jamison, Michael Jordan, Rashad McCants and James Worthy. The official web site of the State of North Carolina says the state is "a better place." But it hasn't been for Duke in regard to securing premium players prior to Ingram. Following is an alphabetical list detailing the hometowns of Duke's 39 All-Americans coming from 20 different states plus the District of Columbia:
Duke All-American Pos. A-A Season(s) Hometown Mark Alarie F 1986 Phoenix, AZ Grayson Allen G 2016 Jacksonville, FL Tommy Amaker G 1987 Fairfax, VA Gene Banks F 1979 and 1981 Philadelphia, PA Shane Battier F 2000 and 2001 Birmingham, MI Carlos Boozer C 2002 Juneau, AK Elton Brand C 1999 Peekskill, NY Chris Carrawell F 2000 St. Louis, MO Johnny Dawkins G 1985 and 1986 Washington, DC Chris Duhon G 2004 Slidell, LA Mike Dunleavy F 2002 Lake Oswego, OR Danny Ferry F-C 1988 and 1989 Hyattsville, MD Mike Gminski C 1978 through 1980 Monroe, CT Dick Groat G 1951 and 1952 Swissvale, PA Gerald Henderson G-F 2009 Merion, PA Art Heyman F 1961 through 1963 Oceanside, NY Grant Hill F-G 1992 through 1994 Reston, VA Bobby Hurley G 1992 and 1993 Jersey City, NJ Luke Kennard G-F 2017 Franklin, OH Ed Koffenberger F-C 1946 and 1947 Wilmington, PA Christian Laettner C-F 1991 and 1992 Buffalo, NY Trajan Langdon G 1998 and 1999 Anchorage, AK Mike Lewis C 1968 Missoula, MT Jack Marin F 1966 Farrell, PA Jeff Mullins F 1963 and 1964 Lexington, KY DeMarcus Nelson G-F 2008 Elk Grove, CA Jahlil Okafor C 2015 Chicago, IL Jabari Parker F 2014 Chicago, IL Mason Plumlee C 2013 Warsaw, IN Jonathan "J.J." Redick G 2004 through 2006 Roanoke, VA Austin Rivers G 2012 Winter Park, FL Jon Scheyer G 2010 Northbrook, IL Kyle Singler F 2011 Medford, OR Nolan Smith G 2011 Upper Marlboro, MD Jim Spanarkel G 1978 and 1979 Jersey City, NJ Jim Thompson F 1934 Washington, DC Bob Verga G 1966 and 1967 Belmar, NJ Jason "Jay" Williams G 2001 and 2002 Plainfield, NJ Shelden Williams C 2005 and 2006 Forest Park, OK