Austin Carroll Receives Big East Offer
Prior to this season Austin Carroll may have been best known for being John Carroll’s son. In New England, and Massachusetts in particular, it is hard to escape your father’s shadow when he is a former head coach of the Boston Celtics. But after a very impressive sophomore season at Worcester Academy and an equally impressive spring AAU season with the New England Playaz, Austin is quickly establishing his own identity.
This season Carroll accomplished the rare feat of cracking the starting lineup at a NEPSAC Class “A” school in only his sophomore season. With his lethal outside shot and high basketball I.Q. Carroll was able to more then hold his own against players two and three years his elder. The coaching staff at nearby Holy Cross College had a front row seat to his season and were compelled to offer him a scholarship despite the fact that he was two and a half seasons away from graduation.
Since the beginning of the AAU season those offers have increased in both quantity and stature. It started when Xavier, fresh off their Atlantic 10 championship and near upset of Ohio State in the NCAA tournament, offered in March. Three weeks later at the King James Classic, when Carroll scored 28 points including 6 three-pointers in front of Rhode Island Assistant Coach Pat Skerry, the Rams became the second Atlantic 10 program to vie for his services.
Finally late last month, Carroll’s recruitment reached an all new level as he received his first scholarship offer from a “high major” program when the Big East’s West Virginia, and new Head Coach Bob Huggins, called to offer a scholarship.
But even after seeing his recruiting status essentially explode in the last three months the rising junior has remained level headed in a manner that reflects his maturity on the court.
“It’s way too early to have a leader,” said Carroll.
Indeed Carroll seems poised to continue his breakout year as he is set to attend Xavier’s Elite Camp this weekend followed by the NBA Player’s Association Camp later this month. After that, will come the July live period where he and his New England Playaz team will travel to the Adidas It Takes Five Championships, the Hall of Fame National Invitational, and the Adidas Super 64 Tournament in Las Vegas.
But regardless of what happens in the next month and a half you can bet that college coaches from coast to coast now know the name Austin Carroll.
Austin Carroll