Austin Etherington – Freshman
Hamilton Heights High School – Cicero, Indiana
6’6" – 198 lbs.
Austin Etherington was the first commit of Tom Crean’s amazing run of recruiting over the span of a few months last year. The well-spoken and personable Etherington then turned his commitment into a frenzy of recruiting the rest of the future. He was an instrumental contributor in convincing the likes of Cody Zeller and Yogi Ferrell to believe in Indiana. His politicking and aid in building the 2011 and 2012 recruiting class has earned him the moniker "The Architect" from me.
The 2011 graduate from Hamilton Heights led his team as a senior with 19 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2 blocks a game. For his efforts he received first team All-State recognition and played with the Indiana All-Stars and future teammate Cody Zeller in the late spring after the high school season. He helped the All-Stars to two wins over future teammate Remy Abell’s Kentucky All-Stars. For all of his high school efforts Etherington finished his high school career as a Big Three recruiting rankings top 150 recruit.
In his freshman season, The Architect looks to play his way into a tough lineup to crack. He certainly has the body to play small forward but so do several players in front of him. Currently I would expect him to be a second half substitute for a majority of the early season. I imagine we’ll see him in all 30+ games on the year but his minutes will be somewhat limited. I would say an average of 8-10 minutes is a pretty good bench mark for him. When he does get in expect him to put some numbers on the board. He’s a kid that will be instrumental as a change of pace player when he gets fully acquainted with the system and the rotation. Give him a year with a college weight coach and nutritionist and he’ll be a mainstay in the rotation as a sophomore. But for now look for Etherington to provide a spark of the bench with a couple of key shots in some close games.