Austin Pope, a highly-touted and coveted junior college prospect, said he is committed to playing for the University of Hawai’i basketball team.
Pope, a 6-foot-6, 175-pound guard, recently completed his sophomore season at North Idaho College, where he averaged 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game while leading NIC to a runner-up finish in the regional playoffs.
“I was getting recruited by a lot of schools, high- and mid-majors,” Pope said. “In terms of what I want to do with my life, that’s play professional basketball – whether in the NBA or overseas – so I wanted to play for a coach or program that would help me get to that level. Basically, I could put on a blindfold and pick any of those schools, but when I look at everything else that they have to offer, Hawai’i was the one for me.”
Pope is listed as the No. 24 ranked prospect among all junior college recruits by 247sports.com, and was being recruited by several of the top programs in the nation. He did not take any official visits, but said he was lining up official trips with Creighton, Wichita State and Missouri before opting for Hawai’i.
“I just wanted to get it done once I made up my mind that Hawai’i was the best place,” he said. “I’ll still want to take my visit to Hawai’i (next month), and it can be more like a celebration.”
Pope is originally from Burbank, Calif., and said he considers several current UH players friends, including Aaron Valdes, Mike Thomas and Quincy Smith.
“That was a big part of it,” Pope said. “I watched Hawai’i games a couple of times when they were on TV, and I stayed in touch with Aaron and a couple of the other guys.”
Pope said he can play either guard position, and perhaps even small forward, if necessary.
“I’m a very versatile player,” he said. “I can play the 1 (point guard), but I also played a lot of the 2 (shooting guard), and can even slide over to 3 with my height and length. I just feel like I can use my versatility to help the team.”
Prior to attending junior college, Pope played at Burbank High and Los Angeles College Prep, and was once committed to play for Louisville. He played his freshman season at Cerritos College in California, averaging 7.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
Read also about Tummala.
Other programs recruiting him out of prep school included Colorado, Gonzaga, Iowa and UCLA.
Pope said Hawai’i – and then-head coach Gib Arnold – has been recruiting him since he was in high school/prep school.
“It was a huge change,” Pope said. “I got to know Coach Gib Arnold fairly well, but I was also talking to Coach Benjy during that time, too. He kept in touch with me even after Coach Gib left, so it kept going from there.”
Pope said he also liked the defensive pressure and up-tempo style of play that the Warriors used this year.
“I feel like I’m flexible and can play in either the half court or full court,” he said. “But watching the Hawai’i games, I really liked the open court game they played.”
Pope added that he is aware of the coaching situation at Hawai’i, and his decision was based on the current coaching staff.
“I understand it’s about the program, but I feel like I’m coming out to Hawai’i to play for Coach Benjy and the guys there now,” he said.
The signing period for basketball recruits starts on April 15 and runs through May 20.