Craig Kevin Austrie (born March 14, 1987) is an American basketball player. He played in college for the University of Connecticut and played briefly for the

Springfield Armor Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queensl ...

in the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

High school career

In his four years, Trinity Catholic went 103–6, captured three league titles, two state titles and was state runner-up twice. The Crusaders went 26–2 in his senior season (2005) as he averaged 22.5 points, 5.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 steals. Austrie won

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develop ...

's Connecticut high school basketball player of the year award in his senior season.

College career

Austrie had originally given a verbal commitment to play for

Steve Lappas Stephan Thomas Lappas (born March 18, 1954) is an American former college basketball coach. He coached at Manhattan (1988–1992), Villanova (1992–2001) and UMass (2001–2005), compiling a 280–237 (.542) record over a 17-year coaching ca ...

UMass The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medical ...

. However, Lappas was fired during Austrie's senior year in high school, and Austrie re-opened his search. He then committed to UConn, his home state school, after also considering Florida, Pittsburgh,

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, St. John's, and

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

2005–06 (Freshman)

Played in all 34 games, starting the first 24 games. Had a UConn-freshman record 14 assists in the win over Quinnipiac. Had a career-best 15 points in the win over Arizona.

2006–07 (Sophomore)

Saw action in all 30 games making 6 starts for the Huskies. Reached double-figures in scoring on eight occasions, including a season-high 14 points against Big East Conference rival

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

2007–08 (Junior)

Saw action in 31 games this season, making 16 starts. He maintained an 89.2 free throw percentage, with a 24-for-31 mark when shooting in the final two minutes of games. He was noted for his calm and composed demeanor late in games, having been described by the coaching staff as "solemn but normal". In the game at

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

, Austrie hit an off-balance jump shot as time expired to give the Huskies a 74–73 win.

2008–09 (Senior)

Started in 23 of 36 games in his senior season and helped the Huskies get to the Final Four. Austrie currently ranks third all-time at UConn in career free throw percentage (83.0). He graduated from UConn in 2009.

Pro career

Austrie was picked 3rd in the 4th round of the 2009 NBDL draft by the

. He played in 5 games, averaging 7.6 points and 1.6 assists per game. He was waived by the club on December 11, 2009. Ironically, he was replaced on the Armor's roster by Chris Lowe, who was recruited to UMass to fill the point guard role that was intended for Austrie. Since his stint with the Armor, Austrie has started his own business, offering basketball lessons to individuals and groups. He helps young kids practice for their upcoming season. His basketball school is called Craig Austrie B-Ball IQ.

References

External links

* http://www.craigaustrie.net/
UConn Huskies profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austrie, Craig 1987 births Living people American men's basketball players Point guards Basketball players from the Bronx Springfield Armor players UConn Huskies men's basketball players