From a then-and-now perspective, it has been an astonishing year for St. Xavier women’s basketball player Claire Austin.
I can describe it only as following your heart and finding a pot of gold.
Austin is having a memorable redshirt sophomore season for St. Xavier (21-3), which is ranked 10th in the NAIA Division II coaches poll.
The 6-foot forward is leading the Cougars with 14.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game and 44 steals. She is second on the team with 48 blocked shots.
You can’t do a reboot much better.
“For sure,” Austin said. “I never thought I’d be in the position that I’m in today. I was blessed to come here last year with coach (Bob) Hallberg, then have coach (Corry) Irvin come here and then to just really be a part of this team.”
It is a pretty amazing story.
Last February, it was so fun to welcome the Mount Greenwood native back to the Southland.
Austin, a 2017 Marist graduate, was a delight to watch during her high school career. Although others had bigger numbers, I always felt she was the best — most certainly the hardest-working — player on the team.
Marist coach Mary Pat Connolly doesn’t disagree.
“She was just … for Marist,” Connolly said. “She was awesome. She was all for the program, all for Marist basketball. It was never about Claire.
“She was a very unselfish person and unselfish player. I knew that wherever she went, she’d be a great team player and a great asset.”
The legendary Hallberg was keen on bringing her to St. Xavier, but Austin instead chose Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
She played her freshman season at Davenport, but right before the start of her sophomore year she told her parents that she wanted to come home.
Just before Christmas, she transferred to St. Xavier. Hallberg’s response at the time: “We’re ready for you.”
Austin practiced with the team on a daily basis, getting to know the players, the program and the school.
“It was hard at first, but coming here from Davenport, I was coming home to where I live,” Austin said. “The change was more about basketball and school and focusing on that. Once I got to know the team, they really did become my family.”
During my last conversation with Hallberg, he told me what a hard worker Austin was at practice. He was sure she’d come back strong as a redshirt sophomore.
Hallberg, who died in November, proved to be an excellent prophet.
“At our banquet, he told me that he wished that I would have played in that last semester,” Austin said. “I wish I did so I could have made a bigger impact.
“When I was looking to transfer here, I was worried that he would write me off. That’s what I did to him my senior year of high school, which I completely regretted. But he took me in with open arms. He never looked back. I never did either.”
Hallberg’s retirement and death from cancer left St. Xavier with a huge hole. Irvin, the former coach at Whitney Young, was a great hire.
When Irvin arrived, Austin was her first pleasant surprise. This season she has come off the bench as Irvin’s super sub.
“I always liked the way Claire played at Marist,” Irvin said. “I was actually excited when I got the job and saw that she was here.
“She always plays hard, always does what you ask her to do and gives us energy all the time. She’s just fun to be around and an excellent leader.”
With so much more to come.