Aaron Miles, who has been busy working out for NBA teams the past couple of weeks, had something else on his mind Thursday.
That something was the condition of his former Kansas University basketball teammate J.R. Giddens, who had surgery to repair a slashed artery in his right calf.
“I just went to see him. He’s on medication. I hope and pray he recovers fully,” Miles said of Giddens, who was injured in a knife fight outside a Lawrence bar early Friday morning.
While nobody would talk about Giddens’ specific condition — “I don’t know anything,” his mom, Dianna, said — both Miles and former teammate Mike Lee nodded in the affirmative when asked if they, like reporters, had heard reports Giddens’ surgery was to repair a sliced artery in his calf.
While serious, the injury is not life-threatening and not expected to derail the junior guard’s career, with a full recovery expected. However, like last summer when Giddens had foot surgery, he figures to be sidelined a significant portion of this summer — time he’d like to spend working on his game.
KU coach Bill Self had no comment on Giddens’ condition or that the underage player — and perhaps other underage Jayhawks — were in the Moon Bar, 821 Iowa Street, for a birthday celebration of a friend who does not play basketball. Giddens still was hospitalized Thursday night.
“We are still in the fact-gathering stage,” Self said. “Out of respect to everyone involved, at this time we have nothing to say and will have a release at the appropriate time.”
6News video: Giddens injured in fight outside bar (05-20-05)
Miles, Lee pledge support of Giddens (05-20-05)
Giddens’ leg slashed outside bar (05-19-05)
Bio: J.R. Giddens
Senior Michael Lee said the team had curfews during the season — midnight or 1 a.m. except the night before a game, when it was 11 p.m.
“Out of season, it’s not strict,” he said.
Lee, who will graduate Sunday, spent some time Thursday at the Moon Bar but was not there at the time of the fight. He was asked whether the 20-year-old Giddens should have been in the over-21 bar.
“In hindsight, nobody should have been there if you look at it that way,” Lee said. “It’s something you have to be careful about. You understand you are under 21 and not supposed to be in there. There are so many factors. This should be an eye-opener for all sports.”
Miles was asked his take on the under-21 matter.
“I don’t have a comment,” Miles said. “J.R. is a grown person. He makes decisions everybody has to make.”
It is not known if alcohol was a factor in the incident.
As one KU official put it Thursday, this incident supports the adage, “nothing good ever happens after midnight.”
And Giddens has had trouble after midnight in his young life.
Last Memorial Day weekend, he and KU freshman Darnell Jackson suffered no serious injuries after the Ford Explorer Jackson was driving — reportedly after 3 a.m. — was clipped by a woman driving a Toyota Corolla.
And while a senior in high school, Giddens and three other individuals were arrested about 3 a.m. in an incident involving stolen goods at an Oklahoma City Wal-Mart. Giddens did not face charges in the case.
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Birthday party: Lee said several Jayhawks were popping in and out of Moon Bar on Wednesday night to celebrate the birthday of a friend nicknamed “DJ 151.”
Lee had headed back to his apartment when he was told via phone that Giddens had been stabbed.
“I stopped through to say, ‘Happy Birthday.’ I went back to my room, heard J.R. was stabbed and jumped back up and went to the hospital. Before I went to the hospital, I went back to Moon Bar.”
Lee saw the man who reportedly slashed Giddens with a knife in custody “sitting by the fence.”
“I’d never seen him,” Lee said. “I saw him in there. The whole thing didn’t make sense.”
The current KU players were off-limits to the media Thursday and were instructed to not comment on the matter.
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Crime scene: A check of the Moon Bar parking lot Thursday afternoon showed the effects of the fight, including splotches of blood leading past the door down the sidewalk.
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Late Night not so late?: Look for the “Late Night in the Phog” season opening basketball practice to likely start well before midnight Friday, Oct. 14.
The NCAA board of directors reportedly has approved a change in the start of men’s basketball practice. Teams will be allowed to practice as early as 7 p.m.
“We have not seen the final legislation,” KU senior associate AD Larry Keating said. “If we had an option to do it earlier I would think so because the whole purpose is to make it easier on fans. But we have not yet met on it as a staff.”
