Former Oiler finds new home in Spain

By: Owen Rode

Former Findlay men’s basketball standout Martyce Kimbrough has recently found a new home in Spain.

Kimbrough has recently signed with Circulo Gijon Baloncesto y Conocimiento, a European league team in the third division, located in Spain. When asked why he chose this team he said,

“For me and where I want to take my career I felt this was the best option.”

Kimbrough is coming off of a stand out senior year, averaging 19.3 ppg on 44.8% shooting here at Findlay. He set the school record for most made 3 point shots made in a season at 114, on a very good 40% shooting.

With stats like those it is not a surprise that he got attention from professional teams around the world. If you have ever watched Kimbrough play you will know they he is not the biggest or tallest guy on the team but he always finds ways to score in a variety of ways. Findlay coach Charlie Ernst had nothing but good things to say about how Kimbrough has succeeded.

“He’s a tremendous shooter and he got that way because he put a lot of time in throughout his career,” said Ernst.

Ernst goes on to say that Kimbrough is not blessed with great athleticism or size, but those players have to work harder, and that shows what type of person Kimbrough is.

Kimbrough’s new team, Circulo Gijon, is coming off of its first season since it was founded in 2017 with a 13-8 record. The team achieved one of the eight places that would be created after the expansion of the LEB Plata, a third division conference with 24 competitive teams. The team is located in Gijon, Spain and plays 22 games in the Palacio de Deportes arena. Kimbrough has been studying his European counterparts and thinks he will fit right in.

“I think my game will translate really well to theirs because they like to play fast and get up and down which how I like to play,” explained Kimbrough. “They also set a lot of on and off ball screens in their offense which helps my game a lot.”

Kimbrough says that their goal for him is to come in and be a scorer and a facilitator, which he has no problem doing and feels very comfortable with. Kimbrough’s former assistant coach at Findlay, Dan Shardo, also feels like Kimbrough will do just fine overseas.

“From what I have seen, the European league looks a lot like the college game and I think that will really benefit him,” said Shardo.

Kimbrough says that he plans to leave for Spain the week of Sept. 10. He gets one day to settle in and then gets thrown right into the action with conditioning starting the day after. Everyone here at the University of Findlay wishes you good luck in Spain Martyce.

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