Huntington Prep Lands Stud Canadian PG Austin Van Zyl
Austin Van Zyl is a name to get familiar with before his recruitment blows up. The Oakville, Ontario native is a Canadian 6’4 point guard from the 2019 class who has transferred to American prep school powerhouse Huntington Prep.
Huntington has been home to many Canadian stars but most familiarly Andrew Wiggins. They also currently have Jonathan Kabongo on the roster.
Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves, I didn’t preface with Wiggins to then follow with Austin Van Zyl as the next one of that breed; but nonetheless, the youngster is projected to be a high level collegiate level player.
Marshall University made sure to get in there early and was the first to offer him a scholarship. Throughout the summer Arizona and New Mexico were tracking him to learn more on the Canadian lefty we call “The Wizard”.
“I was a shy, polite Canadian when I first transferred into the States, but then I learned to kick people in the teeth, so to speak, to get respect. You got to be a dog and headhunt to earn their respect.”
Headhunter Van Zyl added, “plus, I can set anyone up on the court so they’ll love me.”
Van Zyl’s size for position and length are accompanied by a great shooting stroke which he can let off from deep, yet that’s not his best trait. He got his nick name because of his passing touch.
While he is extremely skilled, he remains humble.
“I got a long way to go before I come a finished product. I got lots of time to improve while going up against top Canadian and American talent.”
We have not seen feel for the game like this since Jamal Murray appeared on the scene in 2011. Van Zyl’s vision and ability to read plays as they develop is not teachable. Having a knack for his type of passing is innate.
To add, Van Zyl is deceivingly bouncy. He explodes with little time to power up. The frail frame is his next area to develop.
He spent a few months at York Prep in South Carolina before making the move to Huntington, West Virginia.
“I made the switch for a bigger opportunity. York Prep is a good program with good people who are building a powerhouse in the state of South Carolina. Huntington Prep is a powerhouse nationally.”
He’s on our national radar as the number Canadian in the 2019 class, we’ll keep tabs on the season to see how shapes up on the national American rankings.
