Kansas University head men’s basketball coach Bill Self announced in a statement Friday that junior forward C.J. Giles will resume practicing with the team as of today, but will not play in any games until the end of the fall semester.
Giles, a Seattle, Wash., native who averaged 6.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore, had been suspended since Oct. 17 for issues off the basketball court, including a court date which as been pushed to Jan. 8 regarding more than $4,000 in unpaid child support to the mother of his young son.
“I think here’s the bottom line,” Self said. “We are in the business to help young people. We could certainly do more to help C.J. by him being here than us putting him out. The ball is in his court to do the right thing.”
The terms of his return also indicate that Giles will miss Kansas’ most high-profile regular season contest – a Nov. 25 showdown with defending national champion Florida in Las Vegas, Nev. The earliest Giles will be eligible to return to the court is Dec. 19, which is a home date with Winston-Salem State.
The Jayhawks won their exhibition opener without Giles’ services Thursday night, 99-69 over Washburn at Allen Fieldhouse.
For more on this story, read tomorrow’s Lawrence Journal-World.
