Dime is the premier basketball magazine, covering the NBA, NCAA, High School, Playground and International basketball - as well as sneakers, fashion and music.
Austin City Limits Words. Lucas Shapiro | Photo. adidas
With big men nowadays, you are either a Dwight Howard (someone who focuses on blocking shots and grabbing rebounds) or an Andrea Bargnani (someone who can step outside to shoot and present mismatch issues on offense). It is rare that you can find a mix between these two. Tat is why Isaiah Austin, a 7-foot, 200-pound rising senior at Grace Preparatory Academy (Arlington, Texas) could become a special player.
Etop Udo-Ema, Austin's AAU coach with the Compton Magic, still recalls a time when he saw the soon-to-be superstar. At the time, Isaiah was only in middle school and stood at 6-3. The next year, Udo-Ema ran into him again and he was standing at 6-10.
"You've got to realize, this kid has se- rious genes," says Udo-Ema. "His dad, Alex Austin, is 6-8 and played at Arizo- na State and holds many records there. He played a little bit in the NBA and overseas. His grandfather, who recently passed away, was 6-11 and 320 pounds. His uncle is Ike Austin, who played a long career in the NBA, and is 6-11 and 300 pounds. They've got crazy genes in the Austin family."
Before the growth spurt, Austin was a guard. After the growth spurt, he has still retained his guard skills, but aver- aged 14 points, nine rebounds and six blocks per game leading the Lions to a TAPPS Class 4A title.
"His skill set is ridiculous," adds Udo-Ema. "I don't think there has ever been a guy with that kind of size and those kind of skills. I can't tell you how many times I've seen him dribble the ball down the court and make little guards fall. You can see those clips on YouTube; they're real."
Forget genetics, Austin gives his props to a higher power.
"I've got to thank God for this talent," says Austin. "I work on my coordination a lot, but mainly being this tall and this coordinated was something that was given to me."
No matter how many ankles he breaks or dunks he pulls off, Austin has managed to keep his head on his shoulders. He puts family first, which explains why he chose to commit to Baylor University in Waco, Texas – it's 45 minutes away from his mother's house.
"My family loves to see me play," says Austin, "so anytime I step into the game, I put my heart and soul into it for my family."
And it's his family that will be a key factor in him succeeding. His father and uncle have exposed him to the horror stories of big-
time high school basketball players who tried to make a run to the League but came up short – something that many other players who grow up on the high school basketball scene are not fortu- nate enough to hear. Just in case, Austin has even thought of a Plan B if things don't work out in basketball.
"I would become someone's financial advisor if I didn't have basketball," he says. "I'm good with numbers."
Speaking of numbers, Austin was putting up double-doubles and triple- doubles nearly every week last season, while also continuing to add muscle to his frame. To date, some of the com- plaints about his game have been his lack of ability to obtain position and defend in the post.
"My strength," says Austin, "that's been the main knock on my game. Some- times I'll be able to hold a defender in the post, but that's why I also work on operating on the wing."
Some have said that Austin's rise to fame is similar to that of former No. 2 pick Tyson Chandler. They are, after all, both 7-footers from west of the Mississippi with some incredible athletic ability. Udo-Ema, however, thinks otherwise.
"The crazy thing about Tyson was that he was very athletic and coordinated," says Udo-Ema. "He was seven feet tall coming into high school. He was huge and athletic. People knew he was going to be so good since he was so coordinated at a young age. (Isaiah and Tyson) are very, very different players. Tyson was not skilled. Tyson still isn't skilled. He's not a shooter, he's an athletic shot blocker. Isaiah Austin is an athletic shot blocker who is also a skill guy, which is ridiculous."
While he's not quite on Chandler's level yet, Austin is not con- cerned. His main focus for now is improving his game, keeping good grades in school and recruiting good players – like fellow Texas native L.J. Rose – to come play with him at Baylor. While everyone watching him right now cannot wait for his future, it is good to see that there is one player out there who has not yet bought into his own hype.
34