WINONA LAKE - Bruce Grimm, Jr., the runner-up for the 2009 Indiana Mr. Basketball award, has signed a letter of intent to play at Grace College after transferring from NCAA Division I East Tennessee State University.
Grimm will have three years of eligibility to play for the Lancers, who are coming off back-to-back trips to the NAIA National Tournament in 2008 and 2009 and an appearance in the NCCAA National Tournament in March."I am excited about joining the basketball family at Grace College," Grimm said. "I look forward to getting my major in Education and learning more about God."
Grimm had a standout prep career at Rochester High School before signing with East Tennessee State University. He is the all-time leading scorer at Rochester with 1,607 points. He was also a 2009 Indiana All-Star, a three-time First Team All-Three Rivers Conference player and the Hickory Husker Player of the Year.
At East Tennessee State, Grimm started five games on a team that won the Atlantic Sun Conference. East Tennessee State advanced to the NCAA Tournament, losing in the first round to No. 1 seed Kentucky.
"Bruce is a tremendous player and a quality young man," said Grace head coach Jim Kessler. "He has many individual accolades but wants to be a part of our program. Everywhere Bruce has been, he has had success, and we look forward to him joining our family at Grace."
Grimm set a state finals record with eight three-pointers in an 81-79 double-overtime loss to top-ranked and unbeaten Princeton High School at Conseco Fieldhouse. He scored 40 points in the loss and drew much admiration from the crowd as he made clutch shot after clutch shot.
Grimm hit three treys in the final 1:04 of regulation, including a game-tying shot with one second left to send the game into overtime.
As a result, he was named the 2009 Class 3A Tournament MVP by The Associated Press. He shot 76 percent from the foul line and 36 percent from the three-point line for the year. He also averaged 26.9 points, 5.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 steals a game his senior year.
"We are very excited to have Bruce join our family at Grace College and look forward to the impact he will have not only on our basketball program but also on our campus and community," said Grace athletic director Chad Briscoe.
Grimm will join Grace's incoming recruiting class that includes Three Rivers Conference Player of the Year Greg Miller from North Miami High School, 6-foot-11 Dennis Williams from Jamaica and 6-11 Adrian Makolli from Lakeland Christian Academy.
"You land a player of his caliber in the Mid-Central College Conference, and he has an immediate impact," Kessler said. "We look forward to that impact for the next three years, both on and off the court."
