Colorado State basketball guard Gian Clavell has been granted a fifth year of eligibility.
Clavell and Colorado State had applied for a medical hardship waiver that would allow the graduate one extra year of eligibility after his 2015-2016 campaign was cut short 10 games into the season courtesy of a hand injury. It was announced Friday that the Mountain West granted the waiver, allowing Clavell to return as a graduate player.
Clavell first came to CSU after two years at Northwest Kansas Technical College and played his first season with the Rams in 2014-2015.
After playing 25 minutes a game in his first year with the Rams, the Puerto Rico native saw his minutes increase to 37 to start his senior season. The increase in playtime did not go unrewarded, as Clavell nearly doubled his production from the previous year in the 10 games prior to injury, jumping from 9.2 to 20.8 points, 3.7 to 6.9 rebounds, and 1.2 to 3.2 assists per game. The Rams held a 6-4 record when Clavell went down and went on to finish the season 18-16.
With guard John Gillon transferring to Syracuse and Antwan Scott graduated and playing with the Denver Nuggets in the NBA summer league, the CSU backcourt should consist of Clavell, redshirt sophomore J.D. Paige and sophomore Prentiss Nixon to start the 2016-2017 season.
Collegian Sports Editor Chad Deutschman can be reached by email at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @ChadDeutschman