Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Rebels Basketball:

Junior college guard is Menzies’ first commit at UNLV

New Coach Marvin Menzies

L.E. Baskow

New UNLV basketball coach Marvin Menzies appears before the media and invited guests sporting new hat and ball after the Nevada Board of Regents approved his contract on Friday, April 22, 2016.

Guard Kris Clyburn will be new UNLV coach Marvin Menzies’ first incoming player, the program announced today. Clyburn, listed at 6-foot-6, comes from Ranger (Community) College in Ranger, Texas, and he will have three years of eligibility remaining starting immediately.

"We are extremely pleased to welcome Kris to the Rebel family," Menzies said in a statement. "He is an excellent player and we are excited that someone with such a high level of talent was available this late in the process. Kris is a very efficient player, who has the ability to slash and score in multiple ways. He also has a very high basketball IQ.”

Clyburn, a native of Westland, Mich., averaged 14.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 38 games as a freshman for Ranger, which is led by former Kentucky and Texas Tech coach Billy Gillispie. The team went 35-3 last season, winning a conference championship before losing in the NJCAA semifinals, and Clyburn earned the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award while also netting an all-conference spot.

“Blessed to say I will be furthering my education and basketball career for the next 3 years at UNLV!” Clyburn tweeted. “I want to thank everyone who has been a part of this process. I’m Proud to be a part of the Rebel Family!”

Clyburn, whose brother Will recently played for Iowa State and now plays overseas, shot 59.9 percent from the field (191-of-319), 50.8 percent on 3s (32-of-63) and 77.4 percent at the free-throw line (130-of-168) in his lone season at Ranger.

"Kris doesn't need a lot of shots to be successful as you can see by looking at his stats," Ranger associate head coach Rodney Heard said in a statement. "He is a really good guard and has a chance to be great. UNLV fans will love him. Coach Gillispie did a great job preparing him for Division I basketball and is the reason he is the defender he is today. The best thing Kris did was allow Coach Gillispie to coach him and turn him into a great defender."

As Menzies continues to build a roster that now totals at least four scholarship players (Clyburn, Jalen Poyser, Tyrell Green, Dwayne Morgan), the search for the remaining coaching staff will move on from preferred choice Paul Weir. New Mexico State is expected to replace Menzies with Weir, who likely would have joined Menzies’ staff at UNLV, alongside Andre LaFleur, if he had not been promoted.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.

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