Justin Kier

Justin Kier (born May 30, 1998) is an American college basketball player for the Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He previously played for the George Mason Patriots.

Justin Kier
Kier with Georgia in 2021
No. 5 – Georgia Bulldogs
PositionShooting guard
LeagueSoutheastern Conference
Personal information
Born (1998-05-30) May 30, 1998
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolSpotswood
(Penn Laird, Virginia)
College
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-Atlantic 10 (2019)
  • Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player (2019)

High school career

Kier attended Spotswood High School. In his career, he scored 1700 points for Spotswood and earned Valley District Player of the Year honors.[1] He committed to George Mason over scholarship offers from Coastal Carolina, UNC Greensboro, Radford and Fairfield.[2]

College career

Kier made an immediate impact at George Mason as a freshman, averaging 5.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.[2] He averaged 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game as a sophomore.[3] On December 3, 2018, he scored a career-high 32 points in a 72–67 loss to Vermont.[4] As a junior, Kier averaged 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field.[5] He was named to the Second Team All-Atlantic 10 as well as the Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player.[6] He suffered a stress fracture in the offseason that caused him to miss the first six games of his senior season. Kier missed a game with an unrelated injury in December 2019. On January 15, 2020, he reinjured his stress fracture which caused him to miss the remainder of the season.[7] In nine games, he averaged 9.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.[8]

On April 8, 2020, Kier decided to enter the transfer portal after being granted a fifth season of eligibility.[6] He announced he was transferring to Georgia on April 26 and will be eligible immediately as a graduate transfer.[5] Kier chose the Bulldogs over offers from Minnesota and NC State.[8]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 George Mason 332927.7.428.386.7444.51.1.6.25.8
2017–18 George Mason 333233.2.451.174.7844.62.31.3.111.0
2018–19 George Mason 333134.8.471.371.7696.52.61.6.314.5
2019–20 George Mason 9222.6.464.458.8463.61.3.7.29.6
Career 1089431.1.457.340.7715.12.01.1.210.4

Personal life

At the age of seven, Kier's mother Keley suffered a heart attack while driving a car, crashed into a tree and is now paralyzed, blind and cannot speak. Kier was in the automobile with her but was not injured, escaping through a window. As a consequence of the accident and with his father not in his life, Kier and his older brother, Rasheed, came into the custody of their grandmother, Evelyn, and grandfather, David.[9]

References
  1. Flum, Alex (April 26, 2020). "Former Spotswood star Justin Kier transferring to Georgia". WHSV. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  2. Goff, Steven (December 28, 2017). "A small town in Virginia embraced a child. Now it cheers his rise in college basketball". Washington Post. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  3. Sang, Orion (April 21, 2020). "Grad transfer Justin Kier includes Michigan basketball in final list of suitors". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  4. "Duncan, Lamb each score 19 as Vermont holds off George Mason". ESPN. Associated Press. December 3, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  5. Wilson, Brent (April 26, 2020). "Former George Mason guard, Justin Kier commits to Georgia Basketball". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  6. Byrum, Tyler (April 8, 2020). "George Mason grad transfer Justin Kier enters transfer portal, could return to Patriots". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  7. Byrum, Tyler (January 15, 2020). "George Mason loses senior Justin Kier to another foot injury". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  8. Page, Fletcher (April 26, 2020). "George Mason transfer Justin Kier commits to UGA". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  9. Cristodero, Damian (February 16, 2020). "For senior, 'some light coming into a dark place'". George Mason University. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.