Elmer M. Austin Jr. (December 11, 1949 – December 28, 2023) was an American basketball player. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the North Carolina A&T Aggies and was the inaugural

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual award given to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's (MEAC) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1971–72 season. There has never been ...

in 1972.

Early life

Austin was born in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

, to parents Elmer and Dorothy Austin. He attended

James B. Dudley High School James Benson Dudley High School is a four-year public high school located in Guilford County in the city of Greensboro, North Carolina. Dudley High School was founded in 1929 as the first black high school in Guilford County, in a school system ...

and initially pursued

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

until he was coerced by others into playing basketball. Austin averaged over 20 points per game during his prep career and received interest from 10 colleges. He was recruited by Cal Irvin of the North Carolina A&T Aggies and accepted a scholarship to attend

North Carolina A&T State University North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public university, public, Historically black colleges and universities, historicall ...

. Austin graduated from Dudley in 1968.

College career

Austin impressed Irvin during a preseason scrimmage against the

Elon Phoenix The Elon Phoenix is the official mascot of Elon University, located in Elon, North Carolina. It is the name that each of the sports teams at the university are referred to. The university is a member of the Coastal Athletic Association and that l ...

and was moved into the starting line-up of the Aggies. He scored 24 points in his debut against the

Akron Zips The Akron Zips are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, United States. The Zips compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division I, Division I level as a memb ...

and remained in the starting line-up for his collegiate career. Austin averaged a team-leading 19.1 points and 12.7 rebounds per game during his junior season. He earned All-

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (originally and through 1950 known as the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association — CIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NC ...

(CIAA) team honors. The Aggies moved to the

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

(MEAC) for its debut season in 1971–72. Austin led the team to the first MEAC championship while averaging a team-high 21.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. He was selected as the inaugural MEAC Player of the Year. Austin graduated with a degree in physical education. He tried out for professional clubs and the

United States men's national basketball team The USA Basketball Men's National Team, commonly known as Team USA and the United States men's national basketball team, is the basketball team representing the United States. It is the most successful men's team in international competition, ...

after the 1972 NBA draft.

Personal life and death

Austin had three children with his wife. He died in Greensboro, North Carolina on December 28, 2023, at the age of 74.

References

External links

College statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Elmer 1949 births 2023 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Greensboro, North Carolina Forwards (basketball) North Carolina A&T Aggies men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen