Former Kansas Player Added to Oregon State Roster

As a prep player, C.J Giles was a heavily recruited prospect out of Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, where he was the 2004 Seattle Metro MVP and the runner-up for state player of the year honors.

Photo: OSU Athletics

CORVALLIS - C.J. Giles has transferred to Oregon State and is joining the men’s basketball program, head coach Jay John announced Monday.

Giles, a 6-foot-11, 240-pound center originally from Seattle, is transferring from Kansas.

He began classes at OSU Monday (the first day of winter quarter). He is not on scholarship at this point and is considered a walk-on.

He may practice with the Beavers immediately and take part in all other team-related activities, but won’t be eligible to play until after Dec. 8th, due to NCAA transfer regulations.

He will have a little less than two full seasons of eligibility at OSU, including two complete Pac-10 Conference seasons.

“We recruited C.J. when he was in high school so we feel like we know him very well,” John said. “He understands that he has been given a second chance and I am confident he will make the most of it. He wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe that he will become a model student-athlete and a solid citizen for us. C.J. has made some mistakes in the past, but we researched this extensively and gave it a lot of thought. We have a very disciplined program, our players graduate and we have a good history with transfers. Although he will be held to a very high standard, C.J. has the opportunity to thrive here.”

Said Giles: “The main thing I want to do here at Oregon State is graduate, and the second thing I want to do is help change the program and get it winning like the old days. When I visited OSU, from the players to coaches to the students, it felt like home. They greeted me with open arms. I’m very thankful for this opportunity. I was young and immature at Kansas. Now I’m here and I’m going to grow up. People grow from their mistakes. I have learned to look at the big picture and I’m going to do all the little things to succeed. The things that got me into trouble in Lawrence, I’ve learned from that and I know what I need to change.”

Giles played two seasons at national powerhouse Kansas, which appeared in the NCAA Tournament both years.

As a 2005-06 sophomore, he played in 33 games and started 13 while averaging 6.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots. He ranked seventh in the Big 12 in blocks.

As a 2004-05 freshman, he appeared in 21 games and started five times while averaging 2.8 points and 2.4 rebounds.

The Jayhawks won the Big 12 regular-season title both seasons and in 2006 they won the Big 12 tournament championship.

Giles did not see any action for Kansas this season and was dismissed from the team in early November.

He completed the fall semester before transferring.

During summer 2005, he was one of 21 players invited to the USA Basketball Under-21 National Team trials. He was injured during the first day of the trials and did not continue, however.

As a prep player, Giles was a heavily recruited prospect out of Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, where he was the 2004 Seattle Metro MVP and the runner-up for state player of the year honors.

He was rated among the top 80 players nationally by Hoop Scoop and rivals.com. He was a high school teammate of USC’s Lodrick Stewart and Kansas’ Rodrick Stewart.

A similar transfer situation took place back in January 2004, when Nick DeWitz moved from Iowa to Oregon State during the middle of the school year.

After sitting out a year, DeWitz became a very productive player.

He averaged 12.7 points in 54 career games and ended as OSU’s all-time leader in three-point field-goal percentage (43.6%) and blocked shots per game (2.06).

The first three transfers that Jay John brought in have all graduated (DeWitz, Jason Fontenet and Jim Hanchett). A fourth, junior guard Wesley Washington, is on track to graduate.

The Beavers go on the road this weekend to face Arizona on Thursday and Arizona State on Saturday.

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