Coach K hopeful of Harry Giles' return 'before Christmas'
After getting two of their three injured five-star freshman back last week, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzweski is optimistic the third, Harry Giles, will be back in the lineup before the year ends.
"I'm hoping before Christmas, those two games we have (against Tennessee State on Dec. 19 and Elon on Dec. 21),'' Krzyzewski said, according to Dana O'Neil of ESPN. "I don't want to put a gun to his head, like you have to do it. We'll see how he does during the exam period.''
Giles, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2016, had arthroscopic knee surgery before the season to clean up a previous surgery performed while in high school.
"I don't want to make a mistake and bring him back too quickly,'' Krzyzewski said.
Once Giles is healthy and ready to go, he'll join Jayson Tatum, Frank Jackson, and Marques Bolden as part of Duke's four five-star freshmen.
Tatum and Bolden returned last weekend against Maine in their first action this season. Tatum exploded for 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field Tuesday, while grabbing eight rebounds against No. 24 Florida in a 84-74 victory.