At various times, Austin has received help from basketball coaches and team parents for things ranging from rides to dental work. But he does not take them for granted, which is one reason they are so eager to help him or provide what amounts to a personal taxi service.
“He’s one of the type of kids where Christmas Day he’ll text you, ‘Merry Christmas, all you do for me means so much to me and my family,’ ” Springbrook assistant coach Darnell Myers said.
Assistant coach Rob Harmon, a 1965 Springbrook graduate, takes Austin out on odd jobs to help him earn some money. They mow lawns, rake leaves, shovel snow, clean out garages, do basic carpentry.
“He’s the best worker I’ve ever had,” Harmon said. “And he’s almost the only one who calls me regularly looking for work, too.”
On a couple of occasions during those chores, Austin said a sensation has swept over him: Wow. I’m outside enjoying what I’m doing, and I’m not scared at all.
* * *
For a player considered to be “a man among boys” by one of his coaches, and “the man around the house” by his mother, Austin is still insecure when he feels susceptible to violence, whether that threat is real or imagined.
He avoids being out after dark, particularly alone. Seeing police officers comforts him. He keeps his head on a swivel “to make sure nothing will happen to me.” If he hears a car creeping up behind him? “You’ll see me fly down the street,” he said.
One time after he did that, friends showed up at his door a few minutes later. “Why’d you run?” they asked him. Then he tells them his story.
“He always wants to make sure he’s safe and that others are safe, too,” Springbrook senior forward Charles Taylor said.
Austin is striving to become the first in his five-child family to graduate from high school — he has two older sisters and two younger. He brings tapes of his games home to watch with his mother, who does not make it to many. She is amazed that the boy on the screen, the one throwing his weight around underneath the basket and averaging 16.3 points and 14 rebounds, is the same frightened son who peeked out the window wondering what his messed-up world would throw at him next.
“To be honest, I never thought this lifetime would ever come,” Austin said. “I never thought that I’d make it to get college offers . . . or even be on the varsity team being a leader. I never thought I’d ever make the honor roll.
“I was a scared child, and right now, I’m a happy child. Happy as can be.”
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