By Jeff Griesch
Nebraska Athletic Communications
Competition. It is the fuel that drives Husker women's basketball players. Trinity Brady knows she is a tough competitor. The sophomore-to-be from Indianapolis loves to compete and win, even during shelter-in-place restrictions with her family in Indiana caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
"The coronavirus has had a huge effect on my day-to-day life because for the most part, I do not leave the house," Brady said. "I have struggled with finding things to do. At this point, I think that I have done everything possible. One activity that I have really enjoyed is playing cards with my family. Beating everyone has for sure been the highlight of staying home."
But the 5-11 guard has not limited her competitiveness to the card table, she has also gone to work on her basketball game.
"I have not been able to go to any gyms in Indianapolis, but I have been able to work out and go on runs," Brady said. "I have a basketball hoop in my backyard, so that has been great. I honestly don't think it got that much use over the years, but now my brother (Vincent II) and I are shooting pretty much every day."
Nebraska Coach Amy Williams said Brady's competitiveness is contagious on and off the court.
"One of the things I love the most about Trinity is that she loves to compete," Williams said. "If we put a challenge in front of her group in skill work or to the team as a whole, she is going to rally the troops to accomplish the goal. Off the court, she also has to have the best TikToks!"
With the sudden end to her freshman season at Nebraska caused by COVID-19, Brady has turned free time at home with family into a focus for her second season with the Big Red.
"This offseason my focus is staying healthy, working on ball-handling and shooting, and finishing around the basket. I feel like those are all areas I can improve."
While her parents, Vincent and Jamie, and her younger brother Vincent II may not appreciate her success at cards as much as Trinity does, they easily recognize her competitiveness, determination, toughness and resiliency on the basketball court and in life.
They are also cherishing time together during the pandemic, especially considering the life-altering events they began to face as a family just over four years ago.
On Sunday morning, Feb. 7, 2016, less than 24 hours after helping Lawrence North to a sectional title as a high school freshman, Brady was riding in the passenger seat of a black Lincoln MKT driven by her cousin Garrett Holland on I-65 South outside of Indianapolis. Her brother was also in the backseat along with her cousin's friend.
They were in the left lane next to a semi-truck, when the trailer of the truck began to weave and ultimately tipped over on top of the moving car. The mangled wreckage was ominous, but somehow, all four passengers in the car escaped with their lives.
Brady was bloodied and bruised after the death-defying accident. She was rushed to the hospital where she was stabilized with a neck brace and diagnosed with whiplash and a concussion. The competitor in Brady, who had been on her way to the gym, said she didn't have time for the hospital.
"I need to get out of here. I have to go train," Brady said to the doctor. "I have regionals in five days."
Ae'Rianna Harris, a senior center at Purdue in 2019-20, and Amber Morgan, who went on to play collegiately at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), were both seniors for Lawrence North and the first of Brady's teammates to visit her in the hospital right after the accident.
Harris heard that Brady was told by the doctor she would not be able to play at regionals. Harris encouraged Brady by telling her to be ready for state. With Harris and Morgan as senior leaders and future NCAA Division-I players, Brady was not the star at Lawrence North as a freshman, but she did contribute 7.2 points and 6.0 rebounds for one of the powerhouse teams in Indiana.
Brady went home that Sunday night, but suffered a fall because of dizziness and had one of many severe headaches. She would not be back on the court for six months. In December of 2016, 10 months after the accident, Brady was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury after visiting several neurologists. Anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder became her opponents.
After months of failed diagnoses and medications, Brady finally found answers with Dr. Brad Ralston, who began doing vestibular brain therapy with her six to seven hours per day, five days per week. Brady worked on eye exercises, balancing exercises, and training to improve her reaction time - all areas that suffered following whiplash and her concussion. The exercise-based program reduced her dizziness and vertigo and gave her a fighting chance to beat the pain and long-term effects of the injury.
Within 10 days, the pain that had gripped her for more than a year began to subside. It did not go away entirely. She faced ups and downs throughout the offseason, but she was improving and competing.
Nearly two full years after her terrifying accident, Brady enjoyed a huge junior season at Lawrence North, averaging 21.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists to earn a spot on the IBCA Subway Supreme 15 Underclass All-State Team in 2017-18. She was also a member of the Indiana Junior All-Star Team and the Central Indiana Super Team.
She would not describe herself as completely healthy in 2017-18. In fact, more than four years after the accident she knows she is still recovering.
"I am not fully recovered from my accident," Brady said. "I still have days that I have extreme migraines and difficulty with other things that the accident caused. The therapy that I do on a regular basis helps tremendously at keeping things under control, for the most part."
Brady chose to attend Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tenn., as a senior in 2018-19. The No. 106 player overall in the 2019 high school senior class according to Prospects Nation, Brady believed a year at the prep school would help her adjust to life on her own as a college basketball player.
Brady, who received 20 scholarship offers before ultimately choosing Nebraska over Marquette, Dayton and Illinois, helped Hamilton Heights Christian Academy to a 22-3 record and a final No. 18 national ranking in the USA Today Super 25 in 2018-19.
She came to campus early in the summer of 2019 to begin preparations for Nebraska's summer trip to Europe. Her fitness level, confidence and comfort grew throughout the summer and preseason. In Nebraska's exhibition opener with Rogers State on Nov. 2, Brady put up eight points and pulled down eight rebounds before an opponent fell on her in the lane in the closing moments.
The contact to her head and shoulder area put Brady into the concussion protocol. She was extremely sensitive to light and sound. She couldn't run or exert herself for several weeks. She missed Nebraska's first 10 regular-season games.
"Concussions could always be an issue for me due to my initial brain injury from the accident," Brady said. "A hit to the head could take me back to the same issues that I have suffered since the accident. My symptoms also last longer than a person who has not previously had a brain injury."
Through rest and rehabilitation, Brady returned to play in NU's next 17 contests. In Nebraska's Big Ten-opening win over Iowa on Dec. 28, Brady hit her first career three-pointer to give the Huskers a 30-27 lead in the second quarter. She added two assists and her first career steal in the victory over the Hawkeyes. Brady added a career-high seven points with a pair of threes at Rutgers on Jan. 12.
"Trinity has shown great resiliency throughout her basketball career, and we saw that throughout her freshman season," Williams said. "She had to face her share of challenges on the court with injuries, and off the court with some personal tragedies. Her life experiences have taught her how to bounce back and to stay positive through tough times. Her perseverance is inspiring to her teammates and our staff."
Despite moments of success, Brady knows her missed time and training at the start of the regular season affected her freshman contributions for the Huskers.
"I feel like missing so much really set me back," Brady said. "I was not able to do anything with the concussion so coming back was difficult. I was very out of shape and hesitant on the court. On a positive note, I found that watching the team brought me a different perspective. I was able to see things on the sideline that I would have never noticed while playing."
Brady's continuing recovery from her traumatic brain injury has demonstrated her resilience and made her appreciate the gifts that surround her.
"I feel like the accident and the recovery from the concussion have matured me and made me more grateful for life and all of the ups and downs that it brings," Brady said. "It has taught me to not take things for granted."
