SPRINGFIELD, IL --- The University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball team has added Vincent Grier to the staff, announced by head coach Bill Walker.

Grier is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he played for two years from 2004-2006. During his two-year stint at Minnesota, Grier averaged 16.9 points, which was the 10^th-best on Minnesota's all-time scoring chart for points per game. Grier was named to the First-Team All-Big Ten Team after his junior season in 2005. In his final year at Minnesota, Grier was named to the Senior All-America Second Team, NABC All-District Second Team, and All-Big Ten Third Team.

Prior to his senior year, Grier was a member of the 2005 USA Team at the University World Games. Here, Grier helped lead Team USA to a Gold Medal, dominating their opposition, often times in comparison to the 1992 Dream Team.

Upon graduation, Grier was signed by the Miami Heat and played professional basketball for ten years in the NBA and overseas. During his professional career, Grier found time outside of basketball to organize youth camps and lead volunteer work at local grade schools in France, organized volunteer work for his team in Turkey, and ran free basketball camps for underprivileged kids in Mexico.

"Vincent is going to be an invaluable addition to this staff," said head coach Bill Walker. "Not only does he bring unparalleled basketball experience --- both collegiately and professionally --- but he will serve as a great role model for our players. I was fortunate enough to coach Vincent at Minnesota and now will have the pleasure of having him on this staff here at UIS."

The Prairie Stars will open the 2017-18 season at Malone University in a weekend tournament on November 10^th and 11^th. UIS will open with Malone at 8:00 pm ET on Friday before playing Hillsdale on Saturday at 5:00 pm ET.