Rylan Howe

Freshman center C.J. Giles encourages his teammates from the bench during the second half of the Villanova game Saturday.

Freshman center C.J. Giles (33) has a long, lean body and, as one NBA scout put it, can “run like a deer.” He looked promising in the Jayhawks’ preseason exhibition in Canada, but a stress fracture in his foot knocked the slender forward out of the lineup for six weeks and he has struggled to regain playing time.

The 6-10, 220-pound Giles needs to put on some pounds to really hold his own in the paint. He is good at keeping the ball high when rebounding and shooting, but doesn’t seem comfortable with his back to the basket yet, and could work on his footwork. With a 7-foot-4-inch wingspan, Giles is best known for his shot-blocking ability. He will need to step up in a leadership role next year, and in order to truly contribute he will have to find a way to stay out of foul trouble.