Pitt's Zack Austin Brings Game-Changing Energy

The Pitt Panthers are a different team when Zack Austin is at his best.

PITTSBURGH -- Zack Austin played easily his best game since joining the Pitt Panthers against Virginia Tech. He set season-highs in rebounds and blocks and added a scoring punch as well but it wasn't anything to write home about in his book. 

"Just playing defense, playing off of others," Austin, in his first season with Pitt after transferring from High Point, said. "It wasn’t really nothing special, for real."

His teammate, Jaland Lowe, disagreed. 

"Nah, it was special."

Austin is listed at just 6'7 but he was a dominating force inside the paint. He grabbed 14 rebounds - four offensive and 10 defensive - and blocked five shots. He defended all over the floor - on any given possession he could be found fronting centers Lynn Kidd and Mylyjeal Poteat or chasing Sean Pedulla or Hunter Catoor around screens on the perimeter. 

He's carved out a role as a glue guy for the Panthers, sensing what the team needs and filling that need as best he can on any given night. Austin was a different player at High Point - a high-volume shooter and scorer in addition to a prolific shot-blocker. Lowe knows he can still be a star for Pitt, just in a different role. 

Man, I saw a crazy athlete who can really do this on any given night if he wanted to. So I’m going to take that part. I’m going to tell him he has to do this every night. But that’s what he does. That’s what we expect out of him. That’s what he expects out of himself. So him doing that tonight just really showed at what level he can play all the time and how he can affect the game.

The Panthers believe they are a different team when Austin is at his best and head coach Jeff Capel said he's capable of being at his best every single night. 

"I thought he was tremendous. I really, really did. I thought defensively, some of the blocks that he had, the athletic plays that he had," Capel said. "Like Jaland said, he’s talented. It’s just getting that motor going all the time, and hopefully this is the start of that for him."

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