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Junior Omari Grier leads the Braves by example

It says a lot about a person that plays basketball mainly as a shooter and plays any season with a hip surgery that affects the way you shoot the ball every single time.

Junior guard Omari Grier had to endure pain that most players would sit out with, but that is not like him and that fight that he showed last season gained the attention of his teammates and coaches, including head coach Geno Ford, as an all around leader entering this season.

“Last year Omari played throughout the season having to get occasional cortisone shots in his hip and had constant pain when he bent his knees so as a shooter that can be very uncomfortable, “ Ford said. “He’s not dealing with any of that anymore, so when you watch him, you can see he is more explosive and people are noticing the real potential he has.”

The Braves are in an interesting spot this season. Of the 14 players on the roster, eight of them have not played a minute as a Bradley Brave. So, the need for leadership on this team is crucial and for Grier, being the elder statesman on the team is a spot in which he is enjoying right now.

“Right now I feel that I’m in a great place physically and mentally before we start the season,” Grier said. “We have a very young team and I’m the type of person that wants to lead so it feels great taking some of the guys under my wing and being a leader.”

Grier found out towards the end of the summer that he was going to step up his leadership even more as the news broke of teammate and lone senior Auston Barnes’ arrest. Grier said that Barnes’ situation was not a distraction but knew he had to step up.

“Mike [Shaw] and myself have done a great job filling in that void of being leaders on the team,” Grier said. “I feel that a lot of the returning guys on the team this year are going to be key in making sure our team goes in the right direction by stepping up and being a leader.”

Grier, a native of Erial, New Jersey, played his high school basketball in Newton Square, Pennsylvania at Episcopal Academy. After high school, Grier committed to Florida Atlantic University where he averaged 6.3 points per game and shot 40 percent from the three-point line as a freshman. He then decided to transfer to Bradley and sat out the 2012-2013 season due to NCAA transfer rules.

Now settled in Peoria, Grier is able to look back at his roots of New Jersey and his background as he prepares to play his final two seasons of college basketball.

“I’m very grateful for the way my parents brought me up,” Grier said. “I was brought up with Christian values that I still hold true today and I can’t thank them enough for supporting me throughout my basketball career.”

As for this upcoming season, Grier is looking to rebound from last season that saw the Braves’ season end on a buzzer-beater to Loyola at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament in St. Louis. For Grier the loss left a bad taste in his mouth and motivates him every day to improve.

“It’s games like those that motivate me every day to get better,” Grier said. “A lot of times last year we may have taken some games for granted in terms of how we played defensively and at the end of the game. But now we need to focus on this team and all the potential we have.”

Grier remains humble and patient throughout the whole process as a college athlete, especially a basketball player.

With the time ticking until the first official tipoff of the season and Grier’s health back at 100 percent, look for him and the Braves to bring a new sense of energy this season, now with the top three-point shooter back healthy and ready to go.

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