Chris Giles left Alabama after leading Parker High School to the AHSAA Class 4A boys’ basketball championship in 1975. But after a season with Southern Illinois, the 6-10 forward returned to Birmingham to help jump-start the UAB men’s basketball program.
UAB announced on Sunday that Giles had died at age 65.
In his second season at UAB and the Blazers’ third season in existence, Giles played for a Sweet 16 team in the 1981 NCAA tournament. Under coach Gene Bartow, UAB posted a 23-9 record and defeated Western Kentucky and Kentucky before falling to eventual national champion Indiana 87-72.
The next season, the Blazers did even better. UAB compiled a 25-6 record and reached the Elite Eight in the 1982 NCAA tournament. This time, the Blazers beat Indiana before bowing out with a 75-68 loss to Louisville.
Across the two tournament seasons, Giles averaged 10.8 points and 7.7 rebounds in 63 games for UAB. A second-team All-Sun Belt pick for the 1980-81 season, Giles earned first-team selection for the 1981-82 season.
The New Jersey Nets chose Giles in the fifth round of the 1982 NBA Draft, but he never played in an NBA regular-season game. He did play as a pro for the Wisconsin Flyers of the Continental Basketball Association.
Giles later spent three seasons as an assistant coach at UAB and three seasons as the head coach at Miles College.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
