Four-star point guard Austin Nunez high on ASU after unofficial visit
The Arizona State appeal for four-star point guard Austin Nunez is simple: learn from possibly the greatest collegiate floor general of all time.
“It changes the narrative, it does,” said Austin’s father, Lupe Nunez regarding ASU head coach Bobby Hurley. “When you have somebody like himself who has played at the highest level, has made it to the next level and who has said (Austin) can impact the minute he steps on campus and he can teach him and grow his game. It’s attractive, to say the least.
“That’s part of what is, I would say, sped up his interest in Arizona State from the standpoint of everything Hurley brings to the table. And it’s timing as well. That (point guard) position will be open at the time Austin will step on campus.”
Nunez got his first look at the Tempe campus last week, when he and his dad took an unofficial to ASU, getting tours around the campus and facility while meeting in person with Hurley and his coach staff.
One contributing factor helping the Sun Devils is assistant coach Joel Justus, who had a prior relationship with Lupe while at Kentucky and had been talking to Austin even before he arrived in Tempe. But, Lupe noted, Hurley has been the one spearheading the recruitment of Austin – and the head coach’s involvement has shown the Nunezes how much interest the Sun Devils have in him.
That feeling is mutual. After the unofficial visit, Lupe noted that they would go on an official ASU visit at some point in September.
“They have a unique plan where they can put some older kids around (Austin) early,” Lupe said of ASU. “When you’re able to put him with some veteran kids early in a Pac-12 situation, I think that makes him comfortable.
“And with a veteran coach like Hurley, having a coach like Joel, who’s seen professional kids come in and out of his previous job, someone like (ASU assistant Jermaine) Kimbrough, who has been coaching for 27 years. They have a lot of experience on that staff and have a well thought-out plan, and they’re all on the same page.”
For now, Lupe said that ASU, Marquette, Arizona, Utah, and Howard are the five schools heavily involved and being considered by Austin. Lupe said the 6-foot-2, 165-pound point guard would go on three or four official visits and likely commit at the end of September or, at the latest, the first week in October.
And what would that lucky school be getting in the 65th-ranked player in the country?
“He’s a very cerebral kid, sees the floor extremely well, very skilled, plays with a good pace, shoots it at a high clip, and has a lot of spurtability,” Lupe said. “He can come down and hit back-to-back 3s, get a layup and, all the sudden, he’s scored six or nine points in a matter of 45 seconds.
“(Hurley) feels he’s a kid who knows how to play with over high-level kids and, at the same time, get his own without overshadowing anyone. That (Austin) could come in early and be a really good culture kid in the locker room. He's played at a high level for a really long time, so the bright lights down scare him.”
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