Men's Basketball Release - Clifford - Guilford College

Greensboro, NC (01/02/03) -- Guilford men's basketball coach Butch Estes announced the addition of sophomore Brandon Clifford (Greensboro, NC/Page) to the Quakers' roster Thursday. The 6-9, 230-pound forward/center transferred to Guilford from Division I UNC Wilmington where he played in 40 career games, including four this season. He is expected in the lineup for Guilford's January 4 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) home game with Lynchburg.

"I hope he's able to give us an inside presence," Estes said. "His size and maturity will help stabilize our inside game."

Clifford averaged 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds per contest in one-plus seasons with the Seahawks. He played five games in 2000-01 before undergoing season-ending ankle surgery and receiving a medical redshirt. As a redshirt freshman in 2001-02, Clifford averaged 2.6 points and 1.2 boards in 31 games off the bench. He helped the Seahawks capture last year's Colonial Athletic Association championship and upset Southern California in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Indiana in the second round. Clifford averaged 3.8 minutes in four reserve appearances this season before taking a leave of absence from the team and opting to transfer in December.

"Guilford is close to home and I've played with more than a few guys on the team," Clifford said. "Being comfortable here and being around family and guys I know made it easier than going somewhere else."

Clifford starred for coach Robert Kent '76 at Page High School. Kent played for Guilford's 1973 NAIA national championship basketball team and is a member of the school's Athletics Hall of Fame. Clifford compiled 1,600 points and 1,000 rebounds in his scholastic career and recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons touted him as the 97th-best senior in the country in 2000. He averaged 23.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game as a senior on the way to first-team All-State and All-Metro 4-A Conference Player of the Year honors. The runner-up for Mr. Basketball in North Carolina in 2000, Clifford competed in the 2000 North Carolina Coaches' Association East-West All-Star game in the Greensboro Coliseum.

"It's exciting to have a player of his caliber select Guilford, especially another local player," Estes said. "He's new, but he has experience and I hope he'll make an immediate impact."

Clifford, who has two-and-a-half years of eligibility remaining, is Guilford's second local mid-semester Division I transfer in the last three seasons. Greensboro-native Aron McMillian '02 joined the Quakers in 2001 from Wake Forest via Old Dominion and helped last year's team to a 15-11 record, Guilford's best season since 1989.

The Quakers (2-4, 0-2 ODAC) host Lynchburg this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in the Ragan-Brown Field House and visit league-rival Washington and Lee Wednesday (1/8) in a contest rescheduled from December 5.