Harry Giles Decision: Ranking the Best Fits for 5-Star Power Forward

Both 247Sports and ESPN.com evaluations ranked Harry Giles as the best player in the class of 2016. The sensational power forward trimmed his list of potential suitors down to five on Monday, tweeting that North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas and Wake Forest are the finalists to acquire his services.

Whichever one of those schools signs the 6'10" phenom will have "2017 Final Four contender" permanently attached to its name going forward. Wake Forest hasn't even been to the tournament since 2010, but the Demon Deacons would immediately become a national player if they signed Giles. That's how much potential he has.

Giles was part of Team USA's U19 team that won gold at the FIBA World Championships before nearly leading Team CP3 to the Peach Jam title less than two weeks ago. He averaged 17.8 points and 11.9 rebounds per game in the Peach Jam and simply looked the part of a man playing among boys.

Bleacher Report's C.J. Moore was at the event and had nothing but glowing praise for Giles' game, concluding, "(He) will be a double-double machine on the college level."

Long story short, everyone expects him to be great.

Which of those five schools gives him the best chance at greatness, though?

As we did for Miles Bridges last week, let's take a look at the projected rosters of Giles' five finalists to determine where he has the best chance of being a championship team's star player.

These equations' unknowns are plentiful, but if Giles were to make his decision today—he's actually waiting until sometime in the fall, according to SNY.tv's Adam Zagoria—these are the potential roster constructions he would need to consider.

5. North Carolina Tar Heels

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Players Graduating: Marcus Paige, Brice Johnson, Joel James

Potentially Declaring for Draft: Kennedy Meeks, Justin Jackson, Theo Pinson, Isaiah Hicks

Projected Lineup: Joel Berry, Kenny Williams, Nate Britt, Luke Maye, Harry Giles

Welcome to your weekly offseason reminder that the Wainstein Report ramifications are hanging over North Carolina's program like a guillotine, and none of us have any idea how sharp it is or when it will drop.

As has been the case for the past three months, our operating theory is that the Tar Heels will be eligible for the tournament this season, but their outlook for 2016-17 isn't nearly as bright, leading to a mass exodus of everyone with a shot at getting drafted.

As a result, there's little doubt that Giles would get all of the minutes and touches he could possibly ask for in a North Carolina uniform, but his odds of winning a national championship are slim to none. Even if the Tar Heels are eligible for postseason play, this isn't a roster that gets them very far.

Of course, Roy Williams wouldn't exactly just lose seven players without doing anything else to replace them. We have to assume the Tar Heels would be adding a ton of freshmen in the class of 2016, but we also can't assume they'll be 5-star players.

Maybe Giles is the first and biggest domino to fall in what ends up being the best recruiting class in the country, but he could also be the only top recruit with the guts to sign with a team that might be ruled nationally irrelevant.

Perhaps by the time Giles makes his decision, we'll know more about North Carolina's situation. Until then, however, we can't very well endorse it as a great landing spot for next year's top frosh.

4. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

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Players Graduating: Devin Thomas, Codi Miller-McIntyre, Madison Jones

Potentially Declaring for Draft: None

Projected Lineup: Bryant Crawford, Mitchell Wilbekin, Konstantinos Mitoglou, Harry Giles, Doral Moore

If Giles wants to stay close to home, it doesn't get any closer than Wake Forest. Not only is he currently attending Wesleyan Christian Academy less than 25 miles away from Wake Forest's main campus, but his hometown is Winston-Salem.

He practically grew up with the Demon Deacons in his backyard.

Might he follow in Chris Paul's footsteps? Giles already plays for Paul's EYBL team and spent at least some time seeking Paul's council during the Peach Jam. In case you've forgotten, Paul was born in Winston-Salem before spending two very good collegiate seasons at Wake Forest.

If Giles wants to be like Chris, the next logical step is to don a Demon Deacons uniform.

However, it's not the school that gives him the best chance to win a championship.

At least when Paul went there, Wake Forest was already good. The Demon Deacons had 13 consecutive winning seasons before Paul's arrival and won the ACC regular-season title the year before he showed up. Over the past five seasons, though, they have won just 40.3 percent of their games and haven't even flirted with making the tournament since Giles started middle school.

That isn't to say Wake Forest couldn't be successful with Giles, but the chances of missing the tournament are exponentially higher than they would be at any of his other four choices.

It'd be one thing if he was coming in this year with a chance to play with Devin Thomas and Codi Miller-McIntyre, but unless he can convince some other 2016 studs like Dennis Smith Jr. and Markelle Fultz to join him, he would be something of a one-man show in 2016-17.

3. Kentucky Wildcats

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Players Graduating: Alex Poythress

Potentially Declaring for Draft: Skal Labissiere, Marcus Lee, Jamal Murray

Projected Lineup: Tyler Ulis, Isaiah Briscoe, Charles Matthews, Harry Giles, Tai Wynyard

Depending on how good the Wildcats are this season, we might be underestimating their early-declaration potential. Tyler Ulis and Isaiah Briscoe could both be candidates to throw their hat in the NBA ring.

Conversely, if they struggle this year, maybe Marcus Lee sticks around for a fourth year and creates a minor logjam in the frontcourt.

Business as usual, though, right? Aside from the stone-cold locks to be one-and-done superstars, we never know which Kentucky players will actually stay or go. What's surprising is that it hasn't yet taken any toll on John Calipari's ability to annually sign the best of the best, so it would be foolish to assume that Giles will be overly concerned with that uncertainty if it hasn't fazed others in his position.

There's a good chance that Kentucky will reload with at least one more 5-star recruit aside from Giles, but even if things stay exactly as currently projected, you can't very well hate on this roster or his fit on it.

He doesn't even need help from great guards, but with guys like Ulis and Briscoe feeding him the rock on repeat, Giles could have one of the most absurd statistical seasons by a freshman in college basketball history.

But we're ranking Kentucky at No. 3, solely because Giles would have slightly better running mates in the frontcourt at the top two schools. Tai Wynyard should be pretty good, but he's not Carlton Bragg or Chase Jeter.

If and when the Wildcats sign a guy like Thon Maker or Marques Bolden, feel free to move Kentucky to the top of the list. Until then, we're splitting hairs to separate this national championship contender from the other two.

2. Kansas Jayhawks

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Players Graduating: Perry Ellis, Jamari Traylor, Hunter Mickelson

Potentially Declaring for Draft: Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Cheick Diallo, Wayne Selden, Frank Mason

Projected Lineup: Devonte' Graham, LaGerald Vick, Brannen Greene, Harry Giles, Carlton Bragg

Of the five schools, Kansas' potential draft declarations are the toughest to forecast. If the Jayhawks live up to their full potential, winning a 12th straight Big 12 title before a deep NCAA tournament run, there could be a minor exodus.

Even if they were to lose as many players as listed above, though, the Jayhawks would still be in pretty incredible shape with Giles in tow. Keep in mind, before Frank Mason's breakout sophomore year, Devonte' Graham was expected to be the answer at point guard this past season. And before Bill Self signed Cheick Diallo, Carlton Bragg was going to be this year's 5-star starting power forward.

In other words, there's more than enough talent to keep Giles from having to be the singular leader of the team, but it's not so much talent that he couldn't eventually claim that role if he so chooses.

Moreover, Kansas has had at least one player selected in the top 15 of six consecutive NBA drafts and a total of nine such players during that stretch. It's not quite the lottery factor that Kentucky has had, but it's certainly not like Giles would be giving up a shot at the No. 1 overall pick in 2017 by joining the Jayhawks.

It's a pretty perfect fit, but there's an X-factor for our No. 1 team that Kansas can't quite match.

1. Duke Blue Devils

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Players Graduating: Amile Jefferson, Marshall Plumlee

Potentially Declaring for Draft: Brandon Ingram, Grayson Allen

Projected Lineup: Derryck Thornton, Luke Kennard, Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles, Chase Jeter

With both Amile Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee graduating and Brandon Ingram very likely going the one-and-done route, there certainly figures to be some room for a splash signing in Duke's frontcourt.

Barring transfers or other signings, Mike Krzyzewski will have Chase Jeter, Sean Obi, Antonio Vrankovic and Justin Robinson as his only options for big men. (Mark your calendars, folks. For the first time since 2007-08, there won't be a Plumlee on Duke's roster.)

Obi put up strong numbers with Rice in 2013-14 and is expected to play a moderately significant role for the Blue Devils this season, but if you think his presence on the roster would be enough to keep Giles from playing as many minutes as he can, it might be time to put down the Obi Kool-Aid.

This is a roster begging for a sure thing at power forward, and Giles would be the piece that ensures Duke opens the season ranked in the top 13 of the AP poll for a 21st consecutive year.

And we haven't yet mentioned the fact that Jayson Tatum has already signed with Duke and that he and Giles are allegedly the Package Deal Du An. Because of the type of bond that Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor had before going to Duke or the one that Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb had before signing with California, the Blue Devils are by far the favorites to sign Giles.

Even if we ignore that supplemental information and look solely at the rosters, though, it would be hard not to like Duke's chances. Both Giles and Jeter have range out to the three-point arc, meaning the Blue Devils could have one of those potent Swiss-army-knife offenses in which all five guys can score from virtually anywhere.

If and when he signs with Duke, you can pretty much put it in stone that the Blue Devils will open the 2016-17 season ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports unless otherwise noted.

Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.