Giles Earned his Stripes

by Alan Hieber

Wright State basketball senior guard Adam Giles might not have been a familiar face during games, but he could be the best for the Raiders when it comes to his grit.

For any walk-on athlete, one of the biggest challenges can be finding your purpose on the team and having a thick-skin to stay motivated to remain there. For Giles, who started out as a practice player for the WSU women's basketball team his freshman year and wasn't rooming with any of his teammates during his first season as a sophomore, the answer is simple to why he stayed.

"Now I live with Loudon (Love), Bill (Wampler) and Cole (Gentry). Making those friends and the relationships with the team and coaching staff has been a great experience," Giles said. "That's what has kept me around."

The purpose Giles has for the Raiders is something that often goes overlooked in collegiate basketball since players in his position are not seen during game action much.

As part of his role, he defends the 6-9, 280-pound unmovable object in Love during practice. Giles is listed at 6-3, 205 pounds.

"I have to be ready to go everyday in practice. When we go out for games people don't know that I play with Loudon everyday, and he is the biggest and toughest guy out there," Giles said. "Those guys do their job during game time, and we do ours during practice."

"Adam is a hard hat and lunch pail kind of guy. He comes to practice every day ready to work. He is pound for pound the strongest guy on our team," WSU head coach Scott Nagy said. "He has a tough task each day of muscling up against Loudon but he manages to hold his own.

"He is in a role on our basketball team that gets none of the glory. I just appreciate his willingness to always show up and do what is best for the team even though he receives little recognition."

Playing football at Miamisburg in high school has likely been a reason behind his attitude that would fit with the "rub some dirt on it" line once used in a MasterCard ad with Peyton Manning.

When asked if there have been any notable moments during his sparring sessions with Loudon down low in practice, Giles chuckled and told a story that was probably one of the main topics of discussion at the family dinner table this past Thanksgiving.

"The day before Thanksgiving I got a bloody lip to start practice, and about 15 minutes later I got the other lip bloody. Later that practice I got a black eye," Giles said. "So I showed up to Thanksgiving with my family with a black eye and fat lip. They asked, 'Did you get in a fight?' I said, 'No, I was just guarding Loudon.'"

Giles certainly has acumen for athletics in his genes. His mother Julie played basketball, volleyball and softball in high school, and his dad Gary played baseball. He added that his brother John had a successful high school basketball career at Miamisburg and is now the head coach for the freshman team there.

Having that family background, though it could be tough at times, was beneficial for the character he has had to display for the Raiders.

"Sometimes it's hard because they know a lot about sports, and we'll get into little arguments. They'd get on me about how I played when I was younger," Giles said. "I wouldn't take it so well, but they knew what they were talking about. It's tough love. Overall it's made me a better athlete and better at taking criticism, because you've got to be able to do that, especially at this level."

Giles subbed into WSU's NCAA first round tournament game against third seeded Tennessee for two minutes. Though that might seem insignificant with the Raiders losing that game 73-47, he says he'll still cherish that moment.

"I know not under great circumstances, I got in against Tennessee. That's something I'll remember for the rest of my life," Giles said.

In the classroom Giles has put forth just as impressive an effort as on the basketball floor. The supply chain management major has been honored for having a GPA that exceeds 3.2. He has already accepted a civilian job at Wright Paterson in logistics that will begin post graduation.

What Giles has meant to the WSU program has not been lost in Nagy's eyes, which led to what was done for him this season.

"We were honored to award Adam a scholarship for his senior season. It was a tremendous moment where we invited his family after practice into our locker room as he was presented," Nagy said. "He earned the scholarship by doing everything we ask him to do at a high level both on and off the court."

For a player willing to get a black eye for his team, that was a fitting sendoff for Giles.

Players Mentioned

Adam Giles

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