Daniel Shirley: Tuesday's killing of Mercer basketball player Jibri Bryan was shocking

The Facebook message I received Tuesday night put it perfectly: "I don't envy you having to report stuff like this."

Most days, my job is pretty great. Covering sports for a living? Come on, that's not hard work.

But then there are days like Tuesday. Those are days, to be honest, I hope to avoid by working in sports. Those are days that are set aside for my co-workers on the news side. And I don't know how they do it day after day.

A death? A senseless killing? Of a young man I know?

Those are not the kinds of things we typically deal with in sports, but it's exactly what took place Tuesday as Mercer basketball player Jibri Bryan was killed in downtown Macon.

When there is news like that, it is human nature to wonder why. Why do these things happen? Why would a 23-year-old be gunned down in broad daylight? Was it random? Or was Bryan targeted for some reason?

We want to know why, but we really don't care why. Nothing is going to make this make sense or make it OK. Nothing is going to make us say, "Oh, OK, that makes it better."

The answers that come in the next few days and months will clear up some of those questions, but they won't have any bearing on my feelings about Bryan.

In my dealings with him the past year and a half, he was thoughtful and engaging, and he typically had a big smile on his face, even when dealing with more injuries than any college athlete should have to endure.

Those injuries continued this year as Bryan worked through a banged up knee and had played in just six games. But just the other day, I was talking with someone within the Mercer athletics department and mentioned how much it said about Bryan that he hadn't complained about the injury or his limited minutes since he returned to the lineup, even with younger teammates playing bigger roles.

The response was that he was all about the team, all about what was best for his teammates and coaching staff, and he was willing to play whatever role was necessary. I just nodded because that was the Bryan I had gotten to know.

And that's what made Tuesday such a difficult day to deal with and understand.

Contact Daniel Shirley at 744-4227 or dshirley@macon.com.

This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 11:09 PM with the headline "Daniel Shirley: Tuesday's killing of Mercer basketball player Jibri Bryan was shocking."