More Opportunities Have Appeared for Miami Basketball and a Freshman is Seizing it
Most eyes have been on the five-star recruit Jalil Bethea and his potential for the Miami Hurricanes but don't forget that Miami had a top 10 recruiting class and it wasn't just because of Bethea.
Freshman Austin Swartz was a four-star recruit out of North Carolina and was a consensus top-100 player in the class. He has started to see more playing time in recent weeks and has answered the call of head coach Jim Larranaga on both sides of the ball.
Even though it was in a loss against Charleston, Swartz started to blossom into a rotational piece for the Hurricanes team that is struggling to find answer. Now with the questionability of Nijel Pack and his recent injuries, Swartz number might get called as the schedule starts to increase its difficulty.
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"Everything has been normal as usual. I'd say I've been prepared for this moment and I'm going to keep preparing for the moment whenever my opportunity is called. Just whenever it is called on Tuesday I'm going to be ready and go out there and perform," Swartz said.
Swartz finished the game with 15 points, 3-4 from three-point range, and had two blocks in 22 minutes played. He was the second-leading scorer on the team and if he continues to see more time, he will start to play his way into a key piece for the future of this Hurricanes program.
"[On what he brings] defense, bring some three-point shooting, bring scoring ability, I can space the floor. I believe that I am able to switch 1-3, and 1-4 sometimes depending on who the four is. Just being able to be a switchable defender and bigger guard than some of the other guards we have on the team. Just leave some of the pressure off or the other guards and bigs that have to do most of the scoring," Swartz said.
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