The Sacred Heart men’s basketball community is grieving upon news that a former player was shot and killed the night before in Racine, Wisconsin.
“It’s awful,” said Sacred Heart coach Anthony Latina, who coached Ozier in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. “Great kid, had a heart of gold. He had a tough life.”
Former UConn men’s basketball star and NBA veteran Caron Butler, a product of Racine, was a mentor for Ozier, Latina noted.
Butler famously rose out of Racine after being arrested more than 15 times before his 15th birthday and serving time in a juvenile detention center. Jim Calhoun gave him a shot at UConn, and he became one of the program’s all-time great players. Butler played 14 seasons in the NBA and is currently an assistant coach for the Miami Heat.
Ozier was shot during an altercation with a man the Racine Police Department described as unknown, and his death was listed as a homicide and an isolated incident. No suspect or arrest has been made.
Ozier averaged exactly 14 points per game as both a freshman and sophomore at SHU. He averaged 11.4 points as a junior at Louisiana-Monroe, then 11.2 ppg as a senior in 2021-22. After college, he played professionally in Morocco and China.