Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
By JACK LeGWINSpecial to ZAGSBLOG
Two of the best players in the country, Harry Giles and PJ Dozier, are returning from knee injuries, and are on the cusp of playing after sitting out extended amounts of time.
Giles, the No. 1 ranked player in the class of 2016 by 247Sports, says that his return from a Torn ACL, MCL and Meniscus will come soon, but that he still wants to continue his rehab and his goal is to be 95 percent when he does take the court.
“Right now I am I would say 80-85 percent at the moment,” Giles told SNY.tv Thursday evening. “Right now I am just getting my strength back, and getting my feel for the game. I’m just advancing on the strength and conditioning drills.”
Giles did say that he will be back for a bulk of the summer for Team CP3, as well as playing for Team USA with his good friend, Jayson Tatum.
“I’m extremely excited to playing on the EYBL circuit,” Giles said. “I’ll be back for Team USA for sure, no doubt.”
Giles currently has offers from Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida State, Georgetown, Maryland, Missouri, NC State, Ohio State and Wake Forest.
As for Dozier, he will return to action Friday night for the Upward Stars 17U after having surgery 8 months ago on his meniscus, he says that he’s ready. Dozier injured the knee a couple years ago, but opted to not have the surgery until his junior year.
“I’m a lot stronger, and a lot more confident than before, I didn’t want to have anything that would hold me back my senior year,” Dozier said. “I didn’t feel like it was holding me back too much, but I knew that it needed to be done. They repaired everything they could, I feel better than I did before.”
Dozier, ranked No. 38 in the class of 2015 by 247 Sports, currently has offers from Indiana, North Carolina, Clemson, South Carolina, Kansas, Georgia, Ohio State, NC State and Georgetown. He says that all of the schools that were on board before his surgery are still on board, but that five schools have been contacting him the most.
“North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan and Georgetown have probably been calling the most,” Dozier said. “But everyone has been in touch recently.”
It will be great to see both of these young, talented players back on the court soon, and hopefully get back to the level that they were playing at before.
Photo- USA Basketball
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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
