Miles headed to Spain

Ex-Jayhawk lands job overseas; Lee to work as graduate assistant

Former Kansas University point guard Aaron Miles will travel overseas to play basketball again this season.

Miles, who averaged 10.2 points and 3.7 assists for Pau, France, in the Euroleague last season, has signed a one-year deal with Cajasol Sevilla in Spain’s top professional league.

Terms were not announced, but contracts in that league can land a player between $300,000-$800,000 per year in U.S. dollars.

“Aaron has a very high value. We had offers from teams all over Europe, and a number of NBA teams showed interest,” Miles’ agent, Chris Emens of Octagon, said.

“For him to go to the NBA and turn down this kind of money, we need a full guarantee. Teams that like him say, ‘We’d like to give a full guarantee, but we like to see how things work out (with some other players).’

“What happens if he waits and a situation makes it impossible to sign him? Then he’s left without (Spain). If somebody gave him a full guaranteed deal (in NBA), he’d have taken it. This was the right move. It gives him the financial security to take bigger risks professionally.”

Miles, 24, averaged 7.0 points and 4.6 assists while playing five games for the Washington Wizards summer-league team. He made 14 of 25 shots and had 23 assists against five turnovers.

Emens said he’s confident Miles could have made the Wizards roster, but the squad, which is close to the luxury tax cap, has to await some legal issues involving Andray Blatche before deciding whether to keep the troubled player or sign somebody like Miles.

¢ Lee to work in KU office: Miles’ lifelong buddy, fellow Portland native Michael Lee, as previously reported will be returning to KU this school year to pursue a masters degree in sports management.

Details are being finalized for Lee to work in KU’s men’s basketball office as a graduate assistant. He’ll replace Nate Mast, who is headed to University of Fort Smith in Arkansas as an assistant coach after three years as a GA at KU.

¢ Arthur progressing well: Kansas coach Bill Self said soph forward Darrell Arthur is doing “great” in his rehab from a stress fracture in his left leg. Arthur figures to be cleared for full activity shortly after reporting to campus for the start of class. The Jayhawks are all set to return to campus Tuesday.

¢ Rush looking good: Junior guard Brandon Rush also is progressing nicely from right ACL surgery on June 1. He has said he’ll be back on the court “by Dec. 1 or a month ahead or behind either way.”

“Brandon is doing very well. He’s been very responsible and is progressing along as well as we could have ever hoped,” Self said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean he can come back faster. He’s doing everything he’s supposed to.”

Kansas State’s Bill Walker was back on the court five months after his ACL surgery.

“They think he could be back sooner than that,” Self said of the six-month mark, “but the quicker you come back there could be risk involved. We are not talking about changing our time frame right now.”

¢ Late Night visitor: Terrance Henry, a 6-9, 190-pound senior forward from Carroll High in Monroe, La., will visit KU for Late Night in the Phog on Oct. 12. Carroll High coach Chris Oney told Rivals.com that KU has made Henry’s list of five finalists. Other four visits will go to either Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, USC or Tennessee.