Waiting to explode

His reputation on the summer circuit usually succeeds him.

His stature blends in with the average onlooker. He won’t draw any attention to himself with jaw-dropping displays of athleticism during pre-game layup lines like many of his teammates and competitors.

As quick as most of the opposition dismisses him based on his appearance prior to the tip, Lowell (IN) 6-foot-2 skinny, baby-faced and lights out combo guard Austin Richie is even quicker in making them reassess their initial judgment.

“Obviously I always like being the underdog, but I know I can play with any of these guys,” Richie said. “I just go out like ‘this is what I’ve trained and worked for’ and just do my thing for the most part. But when they underestimate me, and I go out and do that it’s fun.”

During the high school season, the opposition knows what a handful Richie can be.

As a junior he averaged 28.8 points per game, good enough to rank him second among all players in the state of Indiana, and got his buckets from everywhere on the court. He also led the state in free-throw shooting percentage as a sophomore with a scorching 95-percent clip. With the rare combination of a silky smooth and quick release, Richie has proven to be a deadly three-point shooter off the catch or off the dribble.  If the defense runs him off the arc, he’s got a nice mid-range pull up or a variety of floaters up his sleeve.

“He’s definitely a scorer,” Lowell coach Mike Magley said. “He can score off the pass, off the dribble, coming off screens – there’s a lot of ways he can score.”

The easiest look for him is sometimes the hardest.

“I feel more consistent with the ball in my hands and shooting off the dribble, because that’s what I’ve been required to do on my high school team,” Richie said. “I’m going to be honest, the toughest shot for me to hit is a spot shot.”

“I just don’t get to shoot that shot a lot. Defense doesn’t give me too much breathing room, but also sometimes I let it affect the mental aspect of it. Obviously I’m still a better than average spot shooter though,” he added.

Despite lacking a devastating crossover dribble to create some space, or elite level quickness, his natural instincts with the ball and good court vision allow him to be a steady distributor. However, every so often he’ll snap a no-look or behind the back pass off or leave his defender lunging for nothing with a quick spin move off the bounce.

Normally, all the aforementioned numbers and skills are paired with high school student-athletes already committed to a college after considering several other scholarship offers. Through June, Valparaiso and IUPUI are his only offers.

With the critical July evaluation period open to NCAA coaches just about to start, it’s likely he will be surprising more than his opposition who may be judging a book by it’s cover and garner plenty more offers.

“I’m trying more and more not to get stressed out about stuff like that,” said Richie, who also has Missouri State, Richmond, LaFayette, Portland and Northern Iowa interested. “It can get pretty stressful with a recruit like me who isn’t ‘the high major’ or getting a lot of hype. I’m just always striving to do my best. At the end of the day there’s more to life than basketball, all you can worry about is yourself and going out and doing your best.”

Richie’s junior season earned him All-conference and honorable mention all state honors and included a 50-point explosion against Hammond, and a 41 point performance in a win against Kankakee Valley in which he broke his hand before half-time (he scored 25 after the break). However his personal accomplishments were clouded by an early exit in the post season with a first round loss to Munster.

“We lost two games early, but then we got on the right track,” he explained. “When our football players go into the flow of everything, we won a few gaems in a row. We were just getting into a good rhythm, then I broke my hand midway through the season with some of our biggest games against Munster and Merrillville coming up, and they just smacked us. “

“Then I made it back for the last five games including the Sectional. We finished off pretty strong, but we still had Munster first round and lost.”

Besides an improvement in the win-loss column, Richie anticipates a spike in his all-around game – much like the one he saw between two years ago and this past season.

“Personally, I think it’s night and day from my sophomore season to junior season,” Richie said. “Obviously a lot of defense is effort, but I’ve been building some strength, speed and agility. I’ve been working out with my trainer for about a year and half now, and he’s got me doing some good stuff. So, I think next year it will be the same thing with more improvement.”

His tireless training and relentlessness on the court are two traits that have been a fixture in his young career, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise based on who he’s grown up around.

“I’m extremely competitive in everything I do, it’s not even funny,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve been like that since I was younger, especially growing up with my two older brothers. They kicked my butt.”

Older brothers Nate and Aaron played collegiately at Drake and IPFW, respectively. Following them off the court, and on, has had an immense impact on Austin.

“They’ve helped me build strong character and set really good examples for me as a human being,” Richie said. “But a lot of that is learned through basketball, especially strong character and stuff like that. I would not be where I am today without my brothers or my dad helping me out.”

As he prepares for the critical July evaluation period on the club circuit with northwest Indiana based CAPS All-Stars, coached by his brother Nate, that includes at least four different tournaments attended by every big time program in the country – Austin Richie is determined to let his play do his talking.

“When I was younger I sat down and made a list of goals for myself, and I set ten of them,” Richie said. “I put them in my dresser and I’ll look at them from time to time. Things like being an Indiana all-star, winning a state championship, play division-one basketball, and things of that sort are things I always thought were obtainable and still obtainable. So from an early age those are what I’ve strived for and am still striving for.”

By the time Richie concludes his final summer showcasing his ability on the court all over the country in front of potential future college coaches, and his final season playing high school hoops in the Hoosier state, it’s a safe bet he will be able to cross a few more things off the checklist in his dresser.

“I think he’s very capable of being a D1 player,” Magley said. “He’s got the work ethic, the grades, and the ability. I think he’s going to be a fine catch for somebody.”

UPDATE: Since being published, Richie picked up scholarship offers from Bucknell, Lafayette, Hartford, Appalachian State, and Portland after a strong showing in his first tournament of July in Indianapolis.

He followed that up with another great performance in Highland, IN over a three-day stretch, with plenty of college coaches looking on. His 35 points, and 30-foot tiebreaking and game winning three-pointer at the buzzer in the championship game against Baylor probably left a last impression on whatever coaches and fellow competitors were still around to see him go to work.