Queens University of Charlotte head men’s basketball coach Grant Leonard has announced a coaching change as former Special Advisor to Head Coach and Director of Game Planning and Scouting, Stephen Giles has accepted a job with the Phoenix Suns as a Pro Personnel Analyst. Amit Tailor has been hired as the Director of Advanced Scouting for the Royals.
“We are all elated that Stephen got hired by the Suns,” said coach Leonard. “The NBA is where he has been for 20-plus years. His four months with our program were phenomenal and invaluable to our growth as a program. We wish Stephen the best and look forward to seeing how the Suns do this year!”
Giles joined the Royals coaching staff over the summer and made an immediate impact on the program. The advance scout has spent five years at the NCAA Division 1 level working with elite programs in North Carolina, Florida State, and Marquette. However, the NBA has been home for Giles for 28 years as he has worked for the Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Erwin, North Carolina native has been able to work directly with NBA All-Stars like Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Shaquille O’Neal, and Penny Hardaway.
With the departure of Giles, head coach Grant Leonard is thrilled to welcome Amit Tailor to serve as the Director of Advanced Scouting. Tailor brings extensive experience in video scouting, computer programming, advanced statistical analysis, and player development with programs and organizations like Clemson, Florida, Santa Clara, and the Houston Rockets.
“Amit brings invaluable experience from the NBA, the G-League, and the ACC level,” said coach Leonard. “His advance scouting role will be crucial to our game plan development and will directly affect wins and losses. We are lucky to have someone with his experience joining the family.”
Last season, Tailor spent the year with the Grand Rapids Gold, the NBA G-League affiliate of the 2023 NBA Champions Denver Nuggets. With the organization, Tailor served as the Equipment and Manager of Basketball Operations primarily assisting with player development and practices, scouting, and operation logistics. Prior to his time in Grand Rapids, Tailor worked as a Video and Player Development Associate with the Houston Rockets where he was responsible for opponent scouting, video preparation, on-court practice participation, and research projects assisted by the coaching staff and front office.
Before making the jump to the professional ranks, Tailor spent six seasons at the ACC level as a Video Coordinator for the Clemson Men’s Basketball team. With the Tigers, he oversaw analytics to aid self and opponent scouting while learning and integrating hardware and software technology to assist with player development. While in Clemson, Tailor helped the Tigers make a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 run in 2017-18.
Tailor got his start in college coaching as an Assistant Video Coordinator with the University of Florida Men’s Basketball team. While in Gainesville, Tailor conducted extensive research in basketball analytics to assist the coaching staff with future decision-making. A key point of his work was live coding games and opponents for film and halftime breakdown. The two seasons with the Gators opened up an opportunity as a Video Assistant and Analytics Coordinator with the Santa Clara Men’s Basketball team. Tailor assisted with day-to-day operations and rebuilt the video room and video scouting workflow which assisted with player and scout breakdowns.
Tailor is coming off a year in which he served as an assistant coach for the India Rising TBT Basketball Team. With the team, Tailor assisted in game planning, scouting, player development, and fundraising and community engagement. A significant highlight from his time in Dayton was the biggest upset in TBT history as they defeated top-seeded and host Dayton.
Tailor graduated with the highest distinction from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He proceeded to get a Master of Science from Yale University in Chemistry before later attaining a Master of Science from Santa Clara University in Engineering Management and Technology.
Queens University of Charlotte’s Giles accepts NBA job; Tailor hired as Director of Advanced Scouting
