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Lone Peak center Nate Austin made a verbal commitment to play at BYU with a full athletic scholarship Wednesday, becoming the first of several future seniors from his team expected to continue their playing careers at the next level.
Although a reserve on last year's state championship squad, Lone Peak coach Quincy Lewis said he expected the recruiting for the 6-foot-10 Austin to pick up as soon as spring ball started.
It did. Austin has averaged a double-double since last season ended, and had one spectacular game at the right time which really helped his cause.
"The BYU staff has known about and watched Nate since last summer," Lewis explained. "They've known he was playing behind some awfully good players and hadn't been able to get a lot of varsity minutes when normally he would have.
"I knew in the spring everybody would want to look at him," the coach continued.
That was especially true during the Las Vegas Spring Showcase, when the Knights played against some of the country's best competition, mainly organized as all-star club teams.
In the gold bracket quarterfinal, Austin scored 24 points with 22 rebounds against a team of graduating seniors, nearly all of whom had signed to play college ball.
The stands were packed with college coaches, and Lewis said the phone started ringing as soon as the team got back.
"Those guys had a chance to see that Nate has a tremendous upside," the coach said. "He's also a player who's getting better and better right now, which means he's working hard."
Austin drew interest from Utah State, Utah, Boise State and others, but he was both delighted and surprised to get the early offer to play for the Cougars.
"I've been a BYU fan my whole life," he said. "Every college that showed interest in me was pretty good and I considered them all, but I think BYU is the right choice for me."
He cited his family's ability to stay involved and BYU's winning tradition as major factors in his decision.
Austin has an October birthday and plans to serve his two-year LDS mission before enrolling at BYU.
"I'm just really excited for him," Lewis said. "He deserves this because he's worked really hard. The great thing about Nate is he just wants to get better and help his team win. With those two things in place, good things happen.
"I think BYU's going to be pleased with the player and the guy they get after he serves his mission," Lewis concluded. |
