Giddens Leaving Kansas Men's Basketball Team

June 30, 2005

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

University of Kansas head coach Bill Self announced Thursday that junior guard J.R. Giddens will leave the KU men’s basketball team to transfer to another institution.

“With everything that has transpired with this situation, coach and I are in total agreement that a fresh start would be best for Kansas and me,” Giddens said. “I’m sorry for what has transpired. Regardless of guilt or innocence, I put our program and myself in a bad situation. That does not take away from the fact that I loved my time here. I appreciate the support my teammates, the coaching staff and fans have shown me.”

“The last six weeks have been a difficult situation for all parties involved following the May 19 incident,” Self said. “J.R. and I have both taken enough time to remove the emotion of the decision and come to the conclusion that a fresh start for both parties would be best. We certainly appreciate his efforts the last two years and wish him the best in his future.”

As a sophomore in 2004-05, Giddens was KU’s third leading scorer with 10.1 points per game. The Oklahoma City native scored 11.3 points per game his freshman season and garnered honorable mention all-conference honors. Additionally, Giddens led KU in three-point field goals in each of the past two seasons with 74 in 2003-04 and 63 last season. Giddens’ 137 total three-pointers rank 10th on the Kansas all-time list.