Miles Aiken

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Miles Aiken
Personal information
Born (1941-12-27) December 27, 1941 (age 82)
Fides Napoli
Career highlights and awards

Miles Aiken (born December 27, 1941) is an American former professional

coach of the British Olympic basketball team, and sportscaster of basketball and American football
.

He was a

Partenope Napoli
.

Aiken coached the British Olympic basketball team in the 1970s, and later became a sportscaster of basketball and American football.

Early life

Aiken was born in New York City. He grew up in the neighborhood of Harlem in the New York City borough of Manhattan, playing basketball in its playgrounds.[2][3][4]

College career

Aiken attended St. Bonaventure University in New York State, and played center for their basketball team.[5] He averaged more than 20 points a game on the school's freshman squad in 1960–61.[2]

As a sophomore, he started for the Bonnies, and averaged 23.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.[6][7][8][9][10] By December 1961, he was rated one of the outstanding prospects in the United States.[11] On December 16, 1961, he broke Elgin Baylor's Bluegrass invitational basketball tournament record by scoring 58 points in two games.[12] On February 13, 1962, he was named to the weekly major college All-East Basketball Team by the Eastern College Athletic Conference.[13] Aiken averaged 23 points per game in his first two years of varsity play.[3]

In early 1963, after averaging 23 points per game and 14 rebounds per game in 10 games, he injured his left knee in a game against Duquesne University. He underwent surgery, and was sidelined for a good portion of the year.[10][14][15][16][17]

Professional career

When he was not drafted in the 1964 NBA draft, Aiken went to Europe to play basketball.[4] He used a brace on his injured knee.[4][15]

Aiken played for Águilas Escolapios Schuss de Bilbao (

Antonio Diaz Miguel, and led the National League in scoring with 23.9 points per game.[15]

He then played for

Spartak Brno, 98–95.[21] In the 1969 European Cup final CSKA Moscow beat Real Madrid in double overtime, as he led Madrid with 24 points.[22]

He joined

Saporta Cup title, over JDA Dijon Basket.[23] Jet magazine noted that he was one of four blacks in the European finals, along with Rudy Bennett (New York University), Larry Robertson (Oklahoma University), and Jim Williams (Temple University).[24] Concurrently with playing for the team, he coached, and earned a long-distance teaching degree at the University of Southern California. He worked in England as a teacher after completing his studies.[15]

On February 3, 2008, Aiken was among 105 players nominated for the

50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors list.[23]

Career after basketball

In October 1975, he became Britain's Olympic basketball team coach.[25] He coached the British Olympic team in 1976.[4]

Aiken later moved into business and sports commentating.[26] In 1982, he began hosting broadcasts of British basketball games, becoming the first black sports presenter on British television.[4][27] The Boston Globe wrote in 1984 that he "has probably done more than anyone to stimulate interest for basketball in Britain, just by force of his personality."[4]

He covered

Channel Four, London, with the broadcast attracting two million British viewers.[31][32]

Writing

Aiken co-authored the Channel 4 Basketball Guide with Philip Linton (Statmill, 1983).[33] He also co-authored American Football: The Records with Peter Rowe (Guinness Books, 1989), which covers the history of football, the development of high school and college football and the National Football League, and football in Canada and Europe.[34][35]

See also

References

  1. ^ Scholastic Voice. Vol. 33. Scholastic Magazine. 1962. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "TB Sidelines 2nd St. Bonnies Star". Meriden Journal. May 9, 1961. Retrieved August 21, 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ a b "St. Bonaventure is 5th Team to Accept NIT Bid". Williamson Daily News. February 20, 1964. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Robert Garrett (March 4, 1984). "The English Translation; Basketball Thrives in Britain, and the American Influence is One of the Big Reasons". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  5. ^ "Akron Passers Retain Title". Reading Eagle. January 7, 1968. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  6. ^ Sheldon Sakowitz (December 1, 1961). "Duquesne Takes 6th Straight". The Owosso Argus-Press. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  7. ^ "K-State Spanks St. Louis Club for 2nd Win". Lawrence Journal-World. December 8, 1961. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  8. ^ "Bonnies Roll Past Xavier Five, 79–57". Youngstown Vindicator. December 10, 1961. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  9. ^ "Topper Quintet Romps, in Home Floor Debut". Kentucky New Era. December 13, 1961. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Franchise players – after they are gone | The Bonnies Bandwagon II". Bonabandwagon.proboards.com. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  11. ^ "Oklahoma is not Match for St. Johns; Bradley is Beaten". Lawrence Journal-World. December 13, 1961. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  12. ^ "Cincinnati Hoop Team Captures 27th Straight". Lodi News-Sentinel. December 16, 1961. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  13. ^ "Lions' Harris All-East Pick". The Pittsburgh Press. February 13, 1962. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  14. ^ George O'Brien (December 11, 1963). "PC Hoopsters and Opponents; Season's Tilts Previewed; Impressive Teams Slated". The Cowl. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Miles Aiken: El hombre de la no-canasta" (in Spanish). Acb.Com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  16. ^ "Dukes Seek Revenge Over St. Bonaventure". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. February 22, 1963. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  17. ^ Milton Gross (November 29, 1963). "College Basketball—What's Ahead in '64". The Virgin Islands Daily News. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  18. ^ "Bilbao y el deporte de la canasta". Eldesmarquebizkaia.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  19. ^ Amateur Athlete. Vol. 40. Amateur Athletic Union of the United States. 1969. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  20. ^ "Euroleague final back in Madrid after 41 years". Euroleague.net. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  21. ^ "Real Madrid legend: Emiliano Rodriguez". Euroleague.net. May 2, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  22. ^ "Barcelona 1969: The longest final". Euroleague.net. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  23. ^ a b "Player Nominees". Euroleague.net. July 15, 2008. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  24. ^ Art Simmons (May 21, 1970). "Paris Scratchpad". Jet. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  25. ^ "Sports Briefs". The Daily Sentinel. October 28, 1975. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  26. ^ Marketing. Vol. 23. Haymarket Press. 1985. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  27. ISBN 9781787290594
    .
  28. ISBN 9780851124964
    . Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  29. ^ "Channel 4". The Glasgow Herald. July 25, 1983. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  30. ^ William Taaffe (November 21, 1983). "Sunday night NFL games on the telly are a merrie olde". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  31. ^ "British Take in 1st Super Bowl". Youngstown Vindicator. January 31, 1983. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  32. ^ "Blimey! Super Bowl is Simply Super in Britain". Lakeland Ledger. January 21, 1984. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  33. ^ Miles Aiken, Philip Linton (1983). Channel 4 Basketball Guide. Statmill. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  34. ISBN 9780851123509
    . Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  35. ^ "QBs, coaches tell their stories". Record-Journal. September 7, 1986. Retrieved August 22, 2013.

External links

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