HoopDirt.com news sponsored by Dr. Dish
Former Kansas standout guard Aaron Miles has returned to his alma mater and will be the assistant director of student-athlete development, KU men’s basketball coach Bill Self announced Wednesday.
“Aaron’s basketball career may not be over, but he is certainly going to be forced to miss this year because of a torn labrum that required surgery,” Self said. “I’ve always told Aaron I wanted him to work for me someday. This is an opportunity for him to get a jump start toward the coaching profession, see how he enjoys it and if he would want to make a career of it after his playing days are over.”
Originally from Portland, Oregon, during his professional career, mainly overseas, Miles has made Lawrence his second home since 2008.
“I love helping people. I love basketball and I love the University of Kansas,” Miles said. “This is an ideal situation for me to be able to do all three of those things. I am thankful to Coach Self for this golden opportunity to work under him and learn from his staff. Everybody in this office is special and I can learn from them all.”
A four-year starter at Kansas from 2002-05, Miles set the KU and Big 12 Conference all-time assists record with 954 assists, which ranks ninth in the NCAA Division I career record book. A 2005 KU graduate who was also a two-time Academic All-Big 12 selection, Miles ended his college career with 1,183 points (36th on the KU career list), 264 steals (third) and 105 three-pointers (tied for 21st). His 137 career starts are second on the KU all-time list, while his 16 NCAA Tournament games played are tied for first in school history.
As a Jayhawk, Miles competed in two Final Fours, in 2002 in Atlanta and in 2003 in New Orleans. In his junior season KU advanced to the NCAA Tournament Regional final in St. Louis. Miles won three Big 12 regular-season championships, his third coming in his senior year in 2004-05, the first of the current 11-straight titles held by KU. In 2002, Miles was the starting point guard on the only team in Big 12 Conference history to go undefeated (16-0) in league play. Additionally, he appeared on the coaches’ All-Big 12 teams his sophomore (honorable mention), junior (third team) and senior (second team) seasons.
Following his KU career, Miles competed for the Golden State Warriors of the NBA and the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League during the 2005-06 season. He then played in the Euroleague, where he played for several teams from 2006 to 2010. He competed for Elan Bearnais Pau-Orthez, which won the French Cup in 2007. The following season he participated with the Spanish ACB team Cajasol Sevilla. Miles played two seasons in Greece – with Panionios in 2008-09 and Aric BC in 2009-10. While with Panionios, he was selected to the HEBA Greek All-Star Game in 2009 and 2010.
Miles played the 2010-11 season for the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League and then returned to Europe, winning the Russian Cup in 2012 and 2013 while playing for BC Krasnye Krylya. In 2013 he was the Most Valuable Player of the Russian Cup and his Russian team also won the 2013 EuroChallenge. Last season he competed for Lokomotive Kuban, which is also located in Russia.
http://www.kuathletics.com/news/2015/9/9/MBB_0909154038.aspx?path=mbball
Photo by Thad Allender/Journal-World Photo
