Kansas University shooting guard J.R. Giddens was hospitalized Thursday for a severe cut on his calf suffered in an early-morning knife fight outside a Lawrence bar.

He was one of five people who went to Lawrence Memorial Hospital with knife wounds after the melee about 2:20 a.m. outside the Moon Bar, 821 Iowa. None of the injuries was believed to be life-threatening, but LMH was not releasing any information about Giddens’ condition.

Lawrence Police on Thursday were still investigating how the fight happened, including Giddens’ role.

“Some of these individuals that were cut were possibly trying to break up a fight,” said Sgt. Dan Ward, a Lawrence Police spokesman. “Some of them were possibly involved in the fight, and that’s what we’re trying to determine conclusively.”

Birthday celebration

Former Kansas University guard Michael Lee said several members of the men’s basketball team, including the 20-year-old Giddens, were at the bar celebrating the birthday of a friend who doesn’t play on the team.

Lee and former point guard Aaron Miles — who were not involved in the fight — said they’d been told Giddens had been cut on his calf.

Giddens

“They said it’s not life-threatening or fatal,” Lee said. “He did have a long cut and needs surgery.”

Coach Bill Self issued a statement saying it was too early for him to talk about details of what happened.

“We are still in the fact-gathering stage,” Self said. “Out of respect to everyone involved, at this time we have nothing to say and will have a release at the appropriate time.”

Moon Bar is an over-21 bar. Asked about Giddens’ underage status, Jim Marchiony, KU associate athletics director, said the department would deal with the issue internally when it had all the facts.

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Bio: J.R. Giddens

“We’ve got standards of conduct that we expect student-athletes to abide by,” he said. “We’ll address that with an individual when it’s appropriate.”

Giddens has received attention in the past for an incident off the basketball court. In 2002, as a highly touted high school recruit from Oklahoma City, he was arrested on suspicion of felony theft from a Wal-Mart. The case was resolved and he did not face any charges.

‘20,000’ versions

The Moon Bar, 821 Iowa, was the alleged site of an altercation early Thursday involving Jayhawks guard J.R. Giddens, who was treated at Lawrence Memorial Hospital after being slashed in the calf.

Lee said he’d been at the bar earlier in the night but wasn’t there when the fight happened. He said that when he visited LMH, “a million, 20,000 people had different versions” of the fight.

Police spokesman Sgt. Ward said it wasn’t yet clear to police what, if any, role alcohol played in the fight. He said six people were injured, one of whom was treated at a Topeka hospital.

Ward said a 24-year-old Olathe man suffered head injuries. Giddens and four other men were injured by a 4-inch folding knife wielded by the Olathe man, he said. Police recovered the knife at the scene, but Ward said it wasn’t clear Thursday whether the Olathe man was a suspect or a victim.

Ward said four of those cut, including Giddens, were from Lawrence, and one man from Topeka also was cut.

LMH officials said they treated five people for knife wounds Thursday morning in connection with the fight. One, a 29-year-old Lawrence man, was in fair condition Thursday evening in the hospital’s intensive-care unit.

Detailed information for the three others was not available Thursday evening.

J.R. Giddens dunks the ball on a fast break against Emporia State University last November. Giddens was hospitalized Thursday for a severe cut on his calf suffered in an early-morning knife fight outside a Lawrence bar.

Bar problems

Nathan Clark was working the front desk at Quality Inn, 801 Iowa, and overheard the fight. At first, he thought it was just an ordinary night outside the Moon Bar, which he said was a frequent source of disturbances.

He said the hotel lost repeat business because of noise at the bar’s closing time, which he said involved young people jumping on cars, “throwing bottles and blaring music.”

“It wasn’t that uncommon because we get a lot of trouble from that bar,” he said.

Clark said he learned it was a fight involving injuries when a man with blood on his shirt came in the hotel and asked if he could use the bathroom.

Moon Bar owner Sunny Liu said he was not familiar with the details of the incident and referred inquiries to night manager Ronald Ruiz, who did not respond to calls.

As of Thursday, there had been no arrests in the case, Ward said. He said that when the investigation was complete, a report would be forwarded to Dist. Atty. Charles Branson’s office.