Giles gets booted for good

By Tom Keegan     Nov 8, 2006

This time, Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self left no room for a reinstatement when he announced Tuesday that reserve junior center C.J. Giles had been dismissed from the team.

The announcement came after Giles was cited by KU campus police for battering a female KU student Monday night.

According to the police report, the 20-year-old woman told police Giles became angry with her when she wouldn’t leave his apartment and he grabbed her by the ankles, dragged her off his bed and onto the floor. She told police he continued to drag her into the hallway as she tried to get away and then “struck her in the left side of her head by her ear” with his closed fist. She left the apartment and reported the incident to police at 11:30 p.m.

Giles admitted to police that he dragged the woman across the floor, according to the report, but he denied hitting her in the head. He was not taken into custody, but was given a notice to appear in municipal court Dec. 6 for battery.

The woman told police she was in Giles’ apartment in Jayhawker Towers on Monday night when he received a phone call from another woman. Giles then told the woman in his apartment to leave, she said, and when she asked why, he told her his girlfriend was on her way to his room.

She told officers she was not aware Giles had a girlfriend and that when she asked him about it, he grew angry and grabbed her by the ankles.

Giles, 21, had been suspended from the team for a couple of weeks for missing a practice, violating a team rule and struggling to stay afloat academically. Giles also is due in court Jan. 8 for failure to pay child support to the mother of his son, a woman he no longer sees. Giles was just reinstated Friday by Self and didn’t last a week before fumbling away his final chance to make something of a KU basketball career that was more about potential than productivity. Self suspended Giles from participating in games until Dec. 19 at the earliest and was only practicing with the team.

In wording the statement he released, Self was careful not to make it sound as if he’s playing the role of judge and jury regarding the alleged battery, simply the role of executioner to his KU basketball career.

“We are not now making a judgment about guilt or innocence regarding this incident,” Self said. “But this is yet another example of C.J. putting himself in a situation in which negative things can happen.

“C.J. was well aware of the consequences of another lapse in judgment. We normally would let the judicial process play its course before dismissing someone, but C.J. has exhibited a pattern of irresponsible behavior and has left us no choice.

“We have standards that we hold all our student-athletes to, and C.J. did not meet those standards. We wish him only the best wherever his future takes him. We will continue to support him academically while he is at Kansas.”

A 6-foot-11, 240-pound native of Seattle, Giles drew the attention of NBA scouts by running the floor swiftly and showing a knack for blocking shots. He started 18 of the 54 games he appeared in for KU. He averaged 4.9 points and 3.9 rebounds, numbers quite similar to those posted at KU by his father, Chester, a generation earlier. Chester, a regular at his son’s games last season, averaged 3.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 48 games over two seasons (1979-80) playing for Ted Owens.

KU remains well stocked at the post position, at least once Sasha Kaun returns from a knee injury, which is expected to be later this month or in December. Julian Wright, Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson and, if needed, Matt Kleinmann play in the frontcourt.

Giles could not be reached for comment, and his immediate plans were not known.

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