Hey, guess what?
Another women’s college basketball season has begun, and Claire Austin is leading the way for St. Xavier.
No, I’m not kidding. She’s still eligible. Through 10 games, the 6-foot- guard is averaging 15.8 points and 9.3 rebounds, both tops on the team.
We had a good laugh when I asked her how much she had left in the tank for her sixth year of college.
“Ha-ha … that’s something me and my dad talked about,” Austin said. “My mental state is fine. I love basketball, and that’ll never go away. But my body is struggling a little more than my mental state.
“We still have two of our seniors from last year who came back. I love playing with them. With the young ones coming in, I never know how I’m going to jell with them. And then the second a game hits, and I love playing with them. They’re so much fun being around. They make it all worth it.”
Austin is one of the most fascinating athletes I’ve had the privilege to watch and write about.
When she was at Marist, I always said even though she wasn’t the flashiest player on her teams, she was the most productive.
And maybe it was RedHawks coach Mary Pat Connolly — I don’t exactly recall. But I distinctly remember telling someone that with her smarts on the court, she would not only make a great college player but someday a great coach.
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Austin spent one college season at Davenport before transferring to St. Xavier. Five years later, she’s shown her leadership ability in every sense of the word.
During a transition period last year when coach Corry Irvin left for Illinois, she basically ran the program while they waited for Travis Brewster to arrive.
“That was a huge eye-opener for me,” Austin said. “You see all the things your coaches do on the daily, but you don’t really understand it until you’re the one putting in the work.
“I learned how much more work there is behind the scenes. I loved coaching games and practices because I did that with the (Illinois) Defenders. But I did enjoy it here, figuring out how we could get our team to where it needed to be.”
The future? Austin will graduate with a master’s degree in business management and plans to explore that world. And while it isn’t etched in stone, I think there’s a good chance that, one day soon, she will be coming back home to Marist.
She certainly was made to feel welcome when she called Renee Chimino to congratulate her on being the RedHawks’ new coach.
“Claire is a Mount Greenwood girl, as am I,” Chimino said. “I coached her when she was here when I was Mary Pat’s assistant, so I know the way she plays, I know she’s hard worker, and I know she’d be a great person to have on a basketball staff.
“When I got in a conversation with Claire after I was hired, I told her, ‘You’d better hit me up when you’re eventually done playing. I know that you know what Marist basketball is all about.’ You always want to keep those doors open with your alumni.”
Austin, meanwhile, will never forget the late Bob Hallberg for keeping his door open for her at St. Xavier as a sophomore.
“I came here and he gave me a chance even though it was halfway through the season,” Austin said. “I want to do everything I can to respect him and his legacy.
“I would tell any recruit to see every school, go on every tour. But the best place could be five minutes away from you. I ruled St. Xavier out simply because of how close it was to me. And it ended up being the best place in the whole wide world.”