After weeks of anticipation, Duke’s all-everything freshman Harry Giles make his collegiate debut Monday night. ACCSports.com was in Cameron Indoor Stadium for the 65-55 Blue Devils victory over Tennessee State.
Giles didn’t do much while wearing a hefty brace on his left knee. He entered the game with 11:28 remaining in the first half — after the under-12 timeout. The rookie took one shot on his first touch in a Duke uniform, which he missed. At the 7:45 mark, Giles was subbed back out; he didn’t return to the game.
Luke Kennard and Jayson Tatum once again keyed the Duke victory. Kennard, the lefty sophomore, was especially good: 24 points on just 10 shots.
It was, however, good to see Giles in action. The Winston-Salem native has dealt with multiple knee injuries the last three years, and that’s a lot for anyone to deal with. Giles had arthroscopic surgery back on Oct. 3, which came after two previous surgeries.
Duke has one more game — Wednesday (12/21) against Elon — before a lengthy break. After that, Duke’s next game comes on New Year’s Eve when they kickoff ACC play on the road at Virginia Tech. This will give Giles and fellow freshman Marques Bolden a little more time to health and work on their conditioning. Patience is key.