Kansas City, Mo. ? C.J. Giles, who had played just three minutes total in Kansas University’s last four games, was the Jayhawks’ first big man off the bench Saturday at Kemper Arena.
The freshman from Seattle wasn’t surprised to get the early call.
“Coach talked to me at pregame. He said he felt I was the fastest big man,” said Giles, whom coach Bill Self told to guard OSU’s Joey Graham for a spell. “I knew my chance would come ever since I was injured. I’ve been ready.”
Giles, who had a vicious block of a Graham shot early and an equally violent slam off an inbounds pass from Aaron Miles, finished with four points and three blocks in 11 minutes.
He said his pine time lately had been “frustrating,” but understandable.
“I understand what coach is doing,” Giles said. “I was out six weeks (because of injury). If I was coach, and a player of mine was out six weeks, I would not throw him right into the rotation. He’s said I need to get reps, and that’s what I’m doing. It’s been frustrating at times, but I have to keep a good attitude.”
Self was asked Saturday if Giles had been in the doghouse for any reason.
“No. He was hurt. He was out six weeks,” Self said. “Knowing our team and C.J., he could ill-afford to lose that amount of time. He came out and played very well. I thought our bench played well. I thought everybody played well this weekend — Hawk (Jeff Hawkins), Russell (Robinson), Alex (Galindo), everybody.”
Multimedia:
Hear Bill, Joe, players: Oklahoma State postgame comments
Photo Gallery: KU vs. Oklahoma State
Get the stats: KU vs. Oklahoma State box score
Scorecard: Grade KU’s performance against Oklahoma State
Sign up for cell phone updates
Sign up for e-mail updates
