Pitt’s Zack Austin brings loyalty, respect for teammates from his 2 seasons at High Point
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Befitting a man who respects his teammates, Pitt’s Zack Austin didn’t want to name his victim.
But when he was asked recently to recount some of his craziest shows of athleticism around the basket, he was quick with the recollections.
“Practice-wise, when I was at High Point (N.C.), I got this one dunk over one of my teammates. I think it was my best dunk I ever did,” said Austin, one of three new transfers on Pitt’s team this season. “I kind of, like, jumped over him. His name is Kaden. I didn’t want to put him out there like that. It’s all love, though.”
Austin said Kaden is 6-foot-9, 2 inches taller than him.
Actually, there’s more to Austin’s personal highlight reel.
“Last year, my favorite block — they called it a foul — but I just pinned it on the glass,” Austin said. “Somebody tried to dunk. (I) grabbed it. It was clean, too. I was kind of butt-hurt about that one.”
Pitt’s Jeff Capel is retooling the Panthers, a task most coaches must undertake annually in this age of transfers and name, image and likeness deals.
Austin joins transfer guards Ishmael Leggett, formerly of Rhode Island, and Michael Hueitt Jr., who played at Old Dominion and UNC Greensboro.
Austin brings a unique skill set to Petersen Events Center, having collected 60 or more 3-point baskets (62/67) and blocks (66/69) in each of his two seasons at High Point.
“It comes with instincts and me just being athletic and being around the game,” he said of his shot-blocking ability. “I leave my man and see what’s going to happen and try to make a play.”
Austin was not highly recruited during his time at Moravian Prep in Hudson, N.C. His only big-time offer was from Appalachian State.
“Probably because I was bad,” he said. “I wasn’t the player I am now.”
He said he improved just by “playing every day and just wanting to be better, just putting the time and effort into being a better player.”
He said going to college helped him mature.
“It’s not high school anymore,” he said. “You don’t have your mom there, your dad there, wake you up, put you to sleep. It’s up to you to be better at the end of the day. It’s up to you to go in the gym. It’s up to you to go to practice. It made you become a man. I think that’s where I got my confidence from.”
Austin was Big South co-Freshman of the Year during the 2021-22 season when he averaged 14.4 points and eight rebounds per game. Nice, but he believed he wanted a bigger challenge.
“I felt like I was more athletic than most men I would play,” he said.
Two games during that season showed he could compete on the power school level. In back-to-back games against Michigan State and Kentucky, he totaled 27 points and 14 rebounds while adding four assists against the Spartans and three steals vs. the Wildcats.
“After my freshman year, I felt like I could have played at a high-level school,” he said.
Loyalty won out, however, and he stayed at High Point.
“I wanted to run it back with my guys and try to win it.” he said.
One night last season, he scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 29 minutes of a 93-88 victory against North Florida.
“He torched us,” North Florida coach Matt Driscoll said. “Solid from 3, but finishes through contact, draws fouls. Really, really nice kid.”
Austin continued to score and rebound (14.1/5.4), but High Point finished 14-17, 6-12 in the Big South.
After Austin’s name appeared in the portal this spring, Pitt was one of the first schools to contact him.
“Duke fan growing up. (Capel) hitting me up was surreal,” he said.
Pittsburgh is far from his hometown of Winston-Salem, N.C., but he said he felt comfortable immediately.
“I’m big on family. Coming to a place, regardless of how far it is from home, (it’s important) knowing I have people who have my back. Capel, he’s a North Carolina kid, too. He knows how it is.
“Cool guy. There’s no faking with him. You get what you get. That’s what I respected the most.”
Austin said he was so locked into High Point’s season that he didn’t pay much attention to Pitt’s run to the NCAA Tournament, but he was a quick study.
“B2 (Blake Hinson, jersey No. 2), everybody knows this is his team,” Austin said. “We go as he goes. No disrespect to the other guys. I feel like that’s what makes us such a good team. Everybody knows their role, and everybody’s going to play a part in helping everybody be better.
“He’s the shooter. I’m the dunker. Thunder and lightning. Something like that.”
Since the start of the semester, Austin has become a fan of Pitt’s nationally ranked women’s volleyball team.
“Why not watch winners win?” he said.
He said he was MVP of his middle school volleyball team, but he isn’t looking to get on the same court with the women.
“They’re going to spike on me. I’m not going to lie,” he said.