This past December, the Petroc featured the 2013-14 Prep Basketball Team. Senior, Austin White is an integral part of that team and is our featured athlete for this publication. Recently, I had an opportunity to sit down with Austin to find out a little bit about him and his experiences at Prep and with Prep Basketball.
Last week, White achieved the rare milestone of scoring 1000 points during his high school career during a Prep victory over Union City. This achievement places Austin in elite company at Prep, Hudson County and New Jersey. In addition to his 1000 point mark, Austin has many other accolades to his credit at Prep. Currently, he is leading a Prep team that is ranked # 11 in the Star Ledger top 20. He is a McDonald’s All-American Game Nominee. Last year when Prep won the North Jersey Non-Public A title, Austin was named to the 2nd Team All-Hudson team and Third Team All-Junior. As a sophomore, Austin garnered 2nd Team All Hudson honors and was named a 3rd Team All-Freshman/Sophomore in the previous season.
Austin currently lives in South Orange, his hometown.
In his early years, Austin enjoyed this new experience. White started to play at 5 years old, and soon became serious with the sport in seventh grade. His inspiration early on was Alan Iverson. Watching him play on TV was a key influence for White’s participation in the sport. Today, Chris Paul is one of his favorite athletes. During freshman year at Seton Hall Prep, White had no idea about Saint Peter’s Prep until some of his friends came in contact with him. Quickly, White fell in love with Prep as most students here do for the great opportunities, better academics and athletics, the religious ideals valued through retreats and school gatherings and more.
On the court, White did not have the best of luck getting to the basket. He states, “I was not the biggest part of the team. I couldn’t shoot over the trees (taller opponents), so I had to find a way to the basket to help my team.” His summer training and hard work has seemed to pay off, he says.
When it came to senior year, White was looking throughout his various college offers in search of where would be the right place to play. White had no clue of High Point University until an assistant coach of the team came to check him out. The coach was impressed and recommended the school to him. Then, the assistant coach told the head coach to check him out. After being offered, White visited High Point and immediately decided this was where he wanted to go.
For any future Prep students, White says, “Play a sport! The programs here are top notch in coaching and everything. It’s a great feeling to represent Prep with your brothers on the court or on the field. It’ll put a meaning in your four years here.”
The Prep community applauds Austin White and his contributions to Prep on and off the court. We look forward to hearing news out of High Point University in the coming years. Good luck, Austin.