WHSV Sports Presents: From Valley star to Division I standout

Former Spotswood High School star Justin Kier has emerged as a standout basketball player at the NCAA Division I level.

"The level of confidence I have right now in my game, I feel like I can impact the game throughout every aspect of it," said Kier.

Kier, a junior guard, is George Mason's leading scorer at 13.9 points per game and has grabbed more rebounds than any other player on the roster in 2018-2019. His emergence into one of the top players in the Atlantic 10 Conference started after his sophomore season in 2017-2018.

"In the offseason after my sophomore year, it was keep your foot on the gas, the whole entire time," said Kier. "I think that helped me a lot. It just made the game easier when the season came."

Kier was recently named the Most Improved Player in the Atlantic 10 Conference. His success in college comes after a tremendous prep career in Penn Laird for the Trailblazers. Kier scored more than 1700 points for Spotswood and earned Valley District Player of the Year honors.

"Justin has proven that it is possible and not only is he (at George Mason) but he's flourishing," said Spotswood head coach Chad Edwards.

With Spotswood, Kier played in the VHSL state tournament. Now his goal is to lead GMU to the NCAA Tournament by way of the Atlantic 10 Tournament which starts Wednesday in Brooklyn, NY.

"I think this is a special group," said Kier. "I think we can go really far."

Kier and the Patriots earned the No. 5 seed for the A-10 Tournament and will play Thursday against the winner of Wednesday's game between No. 13 UMass and No. 12 George Washington.

***George Mason game video was provided courtesy of George Mason Athletics***