INDIANAPOLIS - In need of help in the front court, the IUPUI Athletics Department and Head Basketball Coach Jason Gardner announced the signing of Loyola-transfer Maurice Kirby (Chandler, Ariz./Basha) to a financial grant-in-aid for next season. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Kirby will be immediately eligible and have one season of eligibility remaining. 

"I'm excited about the experience and size that Maurice will bring to our team," Gardner said. "He's played a lot of minutes at a really high level and will bring that winning mentality to our program. We lost two bigs from last year's team, so Maurice is going to have to come in and help provide a defensive presence in the middle.

"I know he's excited to get down here and get going. He's a really likable, personable young man who has a lot of maturity and toughness about him. He fits in well with our guys and is going to make an instant impact on our program." 

Kirby appeared in 31 games and made 26 starts for the Ramblers last season, averaging 1.6 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He connected on 45.8 percent of his field goal attempts while playing just under 10 minutes per game. He grabbed a career-high six rebounds in 10 minutes versus Drake on Feb. 22 and had five boards in 10 minutes against Southern Illinois in the Missouri Valley Tournament quarterfinals on Mar. 3. 

In two seasons at Loyola, Kirby appeared in 50 games and made 36 starts, totaling 102 rebounds in 405 minutes.

Kirby began his career at Virginia Tech in 2013, but did not see game action as a true freshman. He opted to transfer to Coffeyville Community College where he averaged 8.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in 2014-15. He hit 54 percent from the floor that season and scored in double-digits 13 times, including an 18-point, 18-rebound effort against Hillside Baptist. He closed the year with 11 games of double-figure rebounds and seven double-doubles. 

Kirby starred at Basha (Ariz.) High School where he was a four-year letterwinner. He was named Team MVP his senior year, while also earning All-Region honors. He also starred for the I Can All-Stars AAU team in 2012, winning the Jayhawk Invitational. 

Kirby becomes the fourth Loyola-transfer to join the program since Gardner's hiring three years ago. He's the second graduate transfer to join the program in as many seasons and the Jaguars' fourth newcomer for next season. 

 

2017-18 IUPUI Signing Class (as of 5/11/2017)
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Cl.	Hometown	High School	Previous School
Brandon Hau	F	6-7	Fr.	Mukwanago, Wisc.	Mukwanago
Maurice Kirby	F	6-9	Sr.	Chandler, Ariz.	Basha	Loyola (Ill.)
Jaylen Minnett	G	6-0	Fr.	Terre Haute, Ind.	Terre Haute South
Grant Weatherford	G	6-2	So.	Cicero, Ind.	Hamilton Heights	Midland (Texas) College