Wednesday morning, on the first day of the early signing period, Austin Etherington signed his letter of intent to Indiana University. Austin signed around 8:30 am at Hamilton Heights High School with his family alongside.
The 6-6 guard gave a verbal pledge to Coach Tom Crean nearly 15 months ago. It was on August 3, 2009 when Austin locked up his future with the Cream and Crimson.
Etherington had offers from Butler, New Mexico, Oklahoma State and Xavier but knew from the very beginning he wanted to play in Bloomington.
Tom Crean is trying to recruit guys like Etherington that are smart, hard working, and understand what it means to play for the Hoosiers. It was evident from the outset Etherington liked IU but wanted to enjoy the recruitment process. However before beginning his junior year, he opted to give Crean his pledge.
Ever since, he has provided Indiana with nothing but good PR and help on the recruiting end. He plays for the very talented Indiana Elite AAU team that includes Cody Zeller, and Yogi Ferrell among others. Thus following his verbal to Crean, he has tried to help for IU’s sake and his own.
Indiana is a special place for Austin for many reasons. It’s close to home and ensures that his family can easily make it down to Bloomington for every game in about an hour and a half. In addition, many of his high school friends and friends around the state flock to Indiana in the fall. Finally, the campus and facilities are unmatched and he is also very comfortable with coaching staff and players. All of the those reasons and more are what helped guide him to Bloomington.
Austin’s dad, Brett played college ball in the Hoosier state, starring at Butler from 1987-1991. But all along Austin knew, it’s Indiana.
Etherington has followed in the shadow of Cody Zeller in this 2011 class. He has played an instrumental part in Indiana’s recruitment of Zeller because he would love nothing more than to continue their friendship in the same uniform at Assembly Hall.
But Austin deserves a lot of credit for his early commitment and relentless praise for the IU program. He has flown under the radar but expect big things from Etherington in Bloomington.