You might remember that way back in 2010, Basketball Elite interviewed Isaiah Austin, long before he made his way up the rankings and into the Jordan Brand Classic, where we caught up with him again and got his thoughts on Baylor, the current Bear team and even Britney Griner.

By Alex Kline

Isaiah Austin
Image Source: NBADraft.net

He’s long and he’s tall. He is Isaiah Austin and just as his height has shot up, so has his recruitment. The seven footer is the tallest player the National Basketball Players Association Top 100 camp in Virginia this week. The 2012 big man is currently ranked in the top fifteen in his class and continues to improve.

Austin, a native of Texas, has basketball routes in his background. The big man’s uncle, Ike, played nine seasons in the NBA. His father played hoops overseas for over fifteen years. Hoops run in the family to put it in perspective.

Despite Austin being extremely skinny for his height, it shows no real effect on his game. He does agree that he must gain weight and muscle. “I need both. I need to gain weight but not lose any of my ability to move.”

At NBPA Top 100 camp, he was absorbing blows from defenders and exhibited excellent body control. “I think I played well,” stated Austin. “My last game was my best, but other than that I did what I had to do on the defensive end.” One writer wrote that the seven foot sophomore was blocking arm pits. Isaiah responded by saying, “That’s really funny!” Whether he blocks shots with arm pits or not, there is no doubt that his defensive game is a strong point of his.

Due to his size and skill, Isaiah’s recruitment is blowing up. Since the June 15th recruitment period started for the class of 2012, Austin is now up to offers from “Arizona, Georgetown, Iowa, Baylor, Houston, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Kentucky.” There might be more out there, however, Isaiah is getting a new phone and will not find out until later if he has more offers. Recruiting is not on his mind now; his abilities are. He does state that he is looking for “any school that will let me play.” He went on to say, “I want a school where I can be a leader both on and off the court.” With no intentions of dealing with his recruiting now, Austin will head to Baylor this week for team camp with his high school.

Isaiah has a lot going for him. He is seven-feet tall. He is great at basketball. One thing is missing in his life though. That is the sport of golf. Austin tried out for the varsity golf team at Grace Prep and was cut from the team after he went one shot over. Oh well! There is always next year. For now, he will stick with basketball.