photo by: Mike Yoder

Kansas forward Carlton Bragg Jr. (15), center visits with former KU guard and assistant director of student-athlete developmen, Aaron Miles prior to the start of KU's game against the Texas Longhorns Monday, Feb. 29, 2016 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

When he arrived back in Lawrence to join Bill Self’s Kansas basketball staff, it was with the idea that former KU point guard Aaron Miles likely would not be staying long.

Friday, that proved to be true, as Florida Gulf Coast announced that Miles was leaving Kansas to become a full-time assistant on Joe Dooley’s coaching staff.

Dooley took over at FGCU after spending several years on Self’s staff, said Miles had a bright future in coaching and would add a lot to the skill development of his players.

“Aaron is experienced, hard-working and played for a Hall of Fame coach (Roy Williams) and a future Hall of Fame coach (Self),” Dooley said in a release. “He has experience professionally, especially oversees, and is someone who will be a tremendous mentor to our players.”

Throughout his career, Self has been the first to promote and congratulate his assistant coaches when they have the opportunity to move up and into better roles elsewhere. That trend continued when learning about Miles’ departure.

“FGCU just hit a home run with the hiring of Aaron Miles,” Self said in the release. “He’s experienced beyond his years with his playing background and his ability to teach. He will work well under Joe and the system he has put in place. I think Aaron has the chance to be one of the stars in our profession moving forward.”

Miles, a 2005 KU graduate who ranks ninth all-time in NCAA history with 954 assists, played in two Final Fours with the Jayhawks and spent 10 years playing professionally following his college career. He s

“My family and I are extremely excited about joining the FGCU family,” Miles said in the release. “I want to thank coach Dooley for this great opportunity. I’m also very grateful and appreciative of the Kansas staff, players and in particular head coach Bill Self for allowing me to learn from them the past year and helping prepare me for this position.

“FGCU was the perfect fit for me. Having the chance to work with coach Dooley is a great honor as I’ve seen first-hand the passion and knowledge he has for the game. I’m looking forward to working with our student-athletes and helping them improve and succeed on and off the court every day.”

As a Jayhawk, Miles competed in two Final Fours – 2002 in Atlanta and 2003 in New Orleans. In his junior season, KU advanced to the NCAA Tournament Regional Final in St. Louis.

Miles won three Big 12 regular-season championships, his third coming in his senior year in 2004-05, the first of the current 12-straight titles held by KU. In 2002, Miles was the starting point guard on the only team in Big 12 history to go undefeated (16-0) in league play. Additionally, he appeared on All-Big 12 teams his freshman (All-Freshman), sophomore (Honorable Mention), junior (Third Team) and senior (Second Team) seasons.

Following his KU career, Miles competed for the Golden State Warriors and the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League during the 2005-06 season. He then played in the Euroleague, where he appeared for several teams from 2006-10. He competed for Elan Bearnais Pau-Orthez, which won the French Cup in 2007. The following season he participated with the Spanish ACB team Cajasol Sevilla. Miles played two seasons in Greece – with Panionios in 2008-09 and Aric BC in 2009-10. While with Panionios, he was selected to the HEBA Greek All-Star Game in 2009 and 2010.

Miles played the 2010-11 season for the Reno Bighorns of the NBA D-League and then returned to Europe, winning the Russian Cup in 2012 and 2013 while playing for BC Krasnye Krylya. In 2013 he was the Most Valuable Player of the Russian Cup and his Russian team also won the 2013 EuroChallenge. His last stop professionally before tearing his labrum which required surgery was with Russia’s Lokomotive Kuban.

Miles and his wife, Mikki, have four sons: Aaron Jr., Adonis, Asaiah and Avion. He replaces Senque Carey, who left FGCU after one season for an assistant coach position on his native West Coast with Long Beach State.