Aaron Miles has felt a bit self-conscious while walking on Kansas University’s campus and about town the past couple of days.
Curious onlookers have been staring down the senior point guard, trying to get a good look at his puffy, darkened right eye.
“I get funny looks all the time now. Everywhere I go, I get funny looks,” Miles said.
He was whacked in the face by a Texas Tech player after grabbing a rebound with seven seconds left in double overtime of Monday’s 80-79 loss in Lubbock, Texas. Miles was called for traveling on the play, despite appearing to be bumped by three Red Raider players.
Shortly after, Tech’s Darryl Dora swished a 23-foot, game-winning three-pointer.
“Some people may have read the stories to know it was an elbow or happened during the game,” Miles said Wednesday. “Other people might think I got beat up or something. They want to see the eye and just say that they know it was a foul, definitely a foul, and how mad they were at the call.”
Fans have bashed the call, but not Miles, who has not come close to blaming any of the officials. Ref-bashing assures reprimands from the Big 12 Conference office.
“I have not seen tape of it yet,” Miles said. “I started watching the game last night. I didn’t watch all the way through, though. Losses don’t sit right with me, but it’s not the end of the world. I understand we did a lot of good things out there, things we can be proud of.”
Court swarming: Hundreds of Tech students swarmed the court after Monday’s final buzzer, impeding the progress of some Jayhawks as they headed to the locker room.
“When the stampede comes, you’ve got to stand your ground,” KU guard Aaron Miles said. “I wasn’t worried about getting trampled. I didn’t want to get crushed, though.”
Miles said none of the Tech fans confronted the Jayhawks.
“Sometimes they do that. In this case, it didn’t happen,” Miles said of fans who routinely storm the court after victories over KU. “They stormed to the middle of the court to congratulate their players.”
KU coach Bill Self said some Tech students actually tripped.
“Based on what I was told from assistant coaches, they saw Texas Tech fans fall, and if they fall, they can get trampled because that was a herd coming out on the court,” Self said.
He said he didn’t instruct his players to hit the exits after the final buzzer, because there was no way of knowing Tech would win.
“The smart thing to do would be to tell them that,” Self said, “unless you are trying to win the game. You can’t say, ‘OK, we want to shoot the shot from here, but everybody get off the court there.”’
Self wishes there was a way to stop fans from rushing the playing surface.
“I think security should be better, but I don’t know how you could control that. That is a dangerous deal, because all it takes is for one guy to chicken-wing somebody, and the next thing you know he (player) retaliates out of frustration and you’ve got a lawsuit,” Self said.
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Bumps, bruises report: C.J. Giles (foot bruise) is about “85 percent,” Self said of the freshman, who this week probably would be limited to an hour a day of practice.
Alex Galindo (groin), Self said, “is a little bit different. He could go if he could tolerate the pain. He needs reps. A pulled groin … he doesn’t trust it. When you don’t trust it, you don’t move near as quick. It’s a lot better than it was.
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“If guys haven’t practiced and coaches don’t trust the fact they can be put in critical situations, they are not going to play as much. They’ll be the first to tell you that the reps are important.”
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Point-guard battle: Backup point guards Russell Robinson logged three minutes. Jeff Hawkins didn’t play at Tech.
“Whomever plays best between Russell and ‘Hawk’ in practice is the one who will play in the game, because right now they are about even,” Self said.
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Stewart shines: USC transfer Rodrick Stewart has been practicing well, Self said.
“What he is is an energy guy, gives us something to guard,” Self said of the 6-4 guard, who will be eligible to play at the conclusion of first semester next season. “He’s hard to block. Stuff like going to the glass … if you don’t put a body on him he’ll try to tip-dunk everything. He’s been a nice asset and will be a solid performer for us.”
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Good call, Wayne: Wayne Simien, who averages 18.8 points and 11.0 rebounds a game, made a good decision in returning for his senior year, Self said.
“There’s no doubt there, no doubt. I’ve talked to NBA people,” Self said. “It’s early, and things can certainly change, (but) I think the way he has performed this year will be a bonus for him as long as we continue to win, and he continues to finish strong.”
Several scouts attending KU games have said Simien was worthy of first-round status in the June draft.