Mercer mourns death of basketball player Jibri Bryan

Overcast skies fit the mood on Mercer University's Macon campus Wednesday as the college community grieved the loss of Jibri Bryan.

The elder statesman on the Bears' basketball team was gunned down in his car Tuesday in the parking lot of a convenience store a few blocks away.

"Honestly, it's shocking, to say the least," Mercer student Ariana Gonsalves said after greeting friends near Cruz Plaza. "I saw him two days ago. He's one of the sweetest guys. He makes it a point to say, 'Hi, how are you doing? How's your day going?' every time you see him. So it's crazy to think you'll never see him again. "

Reaction ranged from tears and shock to denial and anger over the slaying, which happened outside the Flash Foods at the corner of College and Forsyth streets.

Gonsalves and her friends also fielded phone calls from concerned parents worried about their safety, since the shooting happened in the afternoon within a mile or so from campus.

"It's terrifying, honestly," said Gonsalves, who's visited the convenience store several times. "I'm no longer going to walk there by myself, ever again. I probably won't even go there anymore."

Bryan left behind a toddler, said Gonsalves, who was also grieving for his girlfriend.

His death drew remarks during Wednesday's Founder's Day convocation at Mercer, beginning with university President Bill Underwood. He fought back tears as he asked for a moment of silence to remember Bryan and the "many contributions he made to our community."

"Yesterday, we lost a treasured member of the university family," Underwood said.

The main speaker was Kirby Godsey, formerly the university's president and now chancellor. Godsey expressed his "deep sorrow" about the incident.

"Because we are all connected, we all belong together and the loss of one affects us all," he said.

Later in his remarks, Godsey said that despite all the progress humans have made, issues such as violence and social injustice remain unresolved.

"We have not yet even learned to stop killing each other," he said.

After the convocation, students filed out into the rainy morning. Senior Ryan Bowers of Blue Ridge said that the Mercer community was like a "big family," which includes athletes such as Bryan.

"Even if you didn't know him personally, you feel like you know him," Bowers said.

Sophomore Lydia Miller of Milton said it had been a "rough" morning on campus. Miller said she was at Margarita's in Mercer Village on Tuesday when some of Bryan's friends got word of his death, and that the news was still spreading Wednesday.

"Some people hadn't heard, but you can definitely tell the ones who had," Miller said.

The 6-foot-4 guard out of Benedictine Military School joined the Mercer Bears in 2010, the month before Jim Cole arrived as athletic director that July.

After Saturday's game, Bryan was going around shaking everyone's hand, said Cole, who didn't realize that would be his final memory of the player who frequently visited in the office.

"He was always the first one to greet our fans and everybody loved him. He was smiling," Cole said. "Words can't express our grief. I feel for Jibri's family."

Bryan's teammates responded to his death on Twitter once the news broke Tuesday evening. They were not available for interviews Wednesday.

"Rest easy, fam. We love and miss you, Jibri. #34 #bearstrong," junior Lawrence Brown wrote.

Ike Nwamu, who transferred to UNLV in the offseason, also sent his thoughts along with a picture of him and Bryan during the team's NCAA Tournament victory over Duke in 2014.

"Rest in paradise bro #34," Nwamu wrote.

Bryan's parents rushed to Macon from Savannah late Tuesday once they learned of the 23-year-old's death.

They waited Wednesday to escort his body back home after an autopsy at the GBI crime lab in Macon.

"Just pray for us," said Tyrone Bryan, who was too overcome with emotion Wednesday afternoon to talk about his son.

In the wake of the slaying, Cole wanted to keep lines of communication open with the more than 400 student athletes at Mercer.

"We're a family, and we're leaning on one another and we're hugging one another," Cole said.

Mercer's athletic department will be working with the Bryan family and the Southern Conference to schedule a tribute at an upcoming game. The team's next game is scheduled for Saturday at 4:30 p.m. against The Citadel.

"We're going to get through it," Cole said. "We're going to do what it takes to remember Jibri."

To contact Liz Fabian, call 744-4303 and find her on Twitter@MTJTimm.

This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 6:15 PM with the headline "Mercer mourns death of basketball player Jibri Bryan ."