“It takes a courageous kid to come in and help you try to build a program.”

Perhaps nothing stood out more in our sit-down with Ed Cooley than when he said that last May when asked about chasing elite recruits.  Where some coaches in Providence’s past have seen recruiting battles with the likes of Louisville, Connecticut and Texas as losing propositions, the current staff seeks opportunities to show how their school is unique.

Brandon Austin committed to Providence tonight via his Twitter account.  If you haven’t heard of Austin, you haven’t been paying attention over the past four months.  He’s a 6’6 guard out of Philadelphia with an array of skills – one capable of filling in at a variety of positions.  Playing alongside 2012’s monster class of Kris Dunn, Ricardo Ledo and Josh Fortune, in addition to a veteran core of LaDontae Henton, Bryce Cotton, Kadeem Batts and transfers Sidiki Johnson, Carson Desrosiers and Tyler Harris, Austin makes the Friars as deep as they’ve been since 1997, when the team made a run to the NCAA’s Elite Eight.

Dunn and Ledo were high school All Americans, Henton a member of the Big East’s All-Freshman team, Johnson, Desrosiers and Harris were top 100 recruits in their respective high school classes, while Cotton and Batts have shown signs of breaking out in their junior seasons.

All together, the group gives Cooley the type of length, versatility and athleticism that hasn’t been seen in Friartown in quite some time – the type of team Cooley vowed to bring to Providence when he took the job in March of 2011.  The type on top 20 schools.

Landing a recruit with the talents of Austin is no small feat, but it’s how Providence was able to do so that makes it all the more impressive.

Hearing from the likes of Georgetown, UCLA, Texas and Connecticut in early-September, Austin had reportedly removed the Friars from his final list of schools.

Word quietly started to spread a few weeks later that Providence had snuck their way back onto Austin’s radar, and he was soon on campus for PC’s Late Night Madness activities.

The weekend kicked off a whirlwind tour for Austin who spent the following two weekends at Storrs getting the full court press from not only the Connecticut staff, but Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun, and then made a trip to Texas to visit with former PC head man Rick Barnes

From what I understand, assistant coach Bob Simon (who also help spearhead the staff’s first commitment at PC in Henton) played a critical role in Austin’s recruitment.  Austin decided not to visit Georgetown or UCLA after seeing Providence, UConn and Texas on consecutive weekends.

Providence had little in common with the other two.  The campus is far smaller, the NBA draft picks have come with less frequency, they haven’t been near the glamour program that Connecticut and Texas have been for quite some time, yet under Cooley the Friars haven’t been focusing on what they aren’t, but what they are.

It’s a program with a budding core and a tight-knit, family atmosphere.  For so many recruits that isn’t enough to overcome the bright lights of the schools they’ve grown up dreaming about, but for certain kids with the options to go anywhere – the Dunns, the Ledos, and now Austin – this school, with this staff, is the right fit.  And it’s been the right fit for more and more high-level recruits under Ed Cooley and his coaching staff.

So, what do the Friars get in Austin?  The two-time Pennsylvania state champion (he had 13 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks in the title game last spring) has the length to play small forward and the skill to run the point, according to scouts.

Austin is a one-time Penn State commit who de-committed from the school this summer after verballing in February.  Upon de-committing, he soon heard from a who’s who of college basketball’s elite, including Kentucky, Ohio State, Georgetown, UCLA, Florida, Baylor and Syracuse.

He’s said to be terrific off of the bounce, possesses outstanding athleticism and is an above average passer for a player his size.  Austin will join Virginia combo-forward Rodney Bullock as the two players in Providence’s class of 2013.

He’s the latest player to show not only the courage Cooley spoke of, but the faith in the direction and mission of the program Cooley and his staff are building at Providence.  It’s a staff that has shown guts of their own on the recruiting trail in taking on, and defeating, some of the biggest programs in the country.

Austin is the latest victory.  And it’s a big one.

[Related Friarbasketball.com articles: Brandon Austin Scheduled to Visit Providence, Brandon Austin Highlight Reels, Friars May Lead for Austin, Prospects Lining Up for Madness]

Email Kevin at kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

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