Justin Ray "J. R." Giddens (born February 13, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for Ferro Carril Oeste of the Argentine LNB. He was selected with the 30th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics out of the University of New Mexico. He initially played for the University of Kansas but transferred following his sophomore season.\n', '

Giddens accepted a scholarship offer from University of Kansas from then-head coach Roy Williams. After Williams left, Giddens was persuaded to stay by Williams\' replacement Bill Self. In his first year at Kansas, Giddens earned All-Big 12 Conference Freshman honors while averaging 11 points per game. In May 2005 he was involved in a fight outside a bar in Lawrence and received a stab wound. He was later charged with battery for his role in the incident and left Kansas in a mutual agreement with Self. Giddens transferred to New Mexico and sat out the next season due to NCAA regulations. As a junior, he was suspended from the team in late February for disciplinary reasons and missed the team\'s summer trip to work on his academics. New Mexico hired head coach Steve Alford, who took a no-nonsense approach to discipline, and Giddens made a dramatic transformation. As a senior, he was named Mountain West Conference Co-Player of the Year and Honorable Mention All-American following career highs in points (16.3 per game) and rebounds (8.8 per game).\n', '

On June 26, 2008, Giddens was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 30th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. He had worked out with the Celtics for three days, and received praises from head coach Doc Rivers, who thought he could fight for minutes on the team right away. He was even mentioned as a possible replacement for restricted free agent Tony Allen. Giddens was already familiar with Leon Powe and Kendrick Perkins, who were his teammates at the 2003 McDonald\'s All-American Game. But on behalf of his agent Aaron Mintz, Giddens declined to work out at the Celtics\' minicamp in early July, because he had not signed a contract yet.\n', '

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