Utah Jazz Rookie

Isaac Stretching His Hamstring On BFS 1-2-3-4 Flexibility Program .

Isaac Austin comes to the Uta h Jazz th is season from Arizona Sta te. As wi th all ou r big roo kies , we get them sta rted on the BFS program as qu ickly as possible. Isaac was eager to ge t starte d and ma d e lot s of progress last su mmer. Isa ac attende d Las Plu mas Hi gh Schoo l in Oroville, Ca liforn ia w here he participa ted in basketba ll and track. Hi s fam ily is hu ge w ith his da d be ing 6-5 325 and a brother at 6-6 220 p ounds. Isaac sta rted ou t big. As a 6th gr ad er, he w as 5-10 and 160 pounds and by the time he was a senior at Las Plu mas, Isaac w as 6-8 and 280 p ou nds. Isaac played center a nd averaged 17 points and 9.5 reb ounds pe r ga me in his se nio r yea r.

He also threw the di scus 155 feet an d sho t put 60 fee t. Isaac mainta ined a solid 2.8 CPA and could have played major college ball b u t chos e Ki ngs River Ju nio r C o ll e g e in Reedl ey, Ca lifornia. " I h a d a good re la t io n s hip wi t h Co ac h Kie th H u gh es p lus in ju nio r co lleg e yo u ca n p la y all yea r ro un d," reason ed Issac. He a lso felt that he wasn't quite re ady fo r m a jo r co ll ege . Is a a c went on a di et a nd slim med d ow n to 250 and g rew to a 6-9 1/2 height. As a fres h man he averaged 8 points per gam e. His first real expe rie nce with we ig h t t ra in in g ca me th e followi ng year. He a lso we n t to U.C.L.A. in th e s um mers to play.

It pa id off. Isa ac ave raged 18 poi nts a nd 10 rebounds per ga me and chose Arizona Sta te for his ne xt level of play. "My br other Alex wa s playing at ASU," sta ted Isaac. So the Aust in bro the rs teamed up and s tar ted for the Su n De vil s wi t h Is aa c av e ra g in g 13 .7 poi n ts a nd 9 re bo und s d uring his jun io r yea r. Stre ng th Co ach Rich Winter star ted Isaac liftin g hard for his se nior year and for the first time began lifting in-se ason. Isaac benched 265 and cleaned 275 pounds. "I h ad a lot of challen ges," remember ed Isaac. "If you ha ve a cha llenge, resp on d to it. Th at' s what it's all about.

I wa s told tha t I cou ld n't do it; that I wa s too fat or too slow . But it mot ivat ed me. I had to resp ond ." Iss a c was a ls o told th at h e co u ld n' t p lay well ag a in s t ot h e r g o o d bi g me n . H e resp o n d e d! Isaac p rou d ly re membe rs hi s sta ts: Aga ins t Ma rk Ran dle of Kans as, 14 po in ts - 10 rebo u nd s; Luc Lon gely of New Mexico, 17 poi nts - 10 reb ou nd s; Shawn Brad ley of BYU, 15 po ints - 10 rebo u nds. Th ose stats p layed an important role in th e Jazz dra fting Isaac in th e second round. Isaac hu r t his knee in th e NC AA tou rnament but di d n' t have it "scoped " until af ter the d raft.

Th ey also pu t in six p ins to correct a d ef ect in his fe mur. Isaac responded and wo rked ve ry ha rd to reh ab ilita te himself and th in gs get better every da y. The 6-11 284 p ound Au stin is now hoo ked on lifting. "I wa n t to be like Karl Malo ne," said Issac. " Being stro ng is good . If yo u' re not s t ro ng y o u' re a lrea dy behind ." Isa a c w a s fortunate to ha v e ver y uniqu e p arents . " My d ad mo ved us fro m Fresno w he n I was in th e 6th gra de," re ve al ed Isaac. "We sta rted to get in vol ved w ith a bad crowd. It w as a gre at m o ve . My d ad is re tired so he lives for me and m y brother. My p a r ent s stressed to sta y away from dru gs and alcoho l.

I never had a drop of alcoho l in high school." " My da d s tayed on top of u s fo r s t u dyi ng. I was r e all y struggling at ASU m y junior yea r. I was facing not bein g elig ible and missing o u t o n a Eu ro pean tour. I was motivat ed by basket ball to ge t good gra des. Th at summer I go t a 4.0 and th e next fall a 3.0 GPA." Isaac wa nts to give back to his p are n ts for their sac rifi ces. He wa nts to be successfu l for himself and his pa ren ts. "I wa nt very m uc h to ge t m y deg ree so I ca n coac h high schoo l basketball. I wa n t my fut ure chi ldren to respect m e a nd be a n exa m p le so th e y 'll ge t a n ed uca tio n .

I don't want to be the stereo ty pe a thlete who just goes to We Had Isaac Do His Power Cleans From Boxes Because of His Knee Injury play b a sk etb all a n d fo rge ts a b o u t classes." Isaac's pa rents always had their k id s go th e churc h . " We said our p ra y ers eve ry ni ght b efore bed. We prayed for g u ida nce a nd th anked th e Lo rd fo r a ll th e bl e s sin g s we' d received ." Tha t kind of u pbrin gin g has brou ght Isa ac U p per Limi t a tti tu d es. As he ponders about his future in high sc hoo l coac h ing , Isa ac s ta tes , "1 like ISAAC AUSTIN working with kids and the strategy of the game. I wa nt to start kid s out well and give back what has been given to me."

We thank Isaac for sharing his thoughts and know he'll keep responding po sitively to life's challenges.

Straight Leg Dead Lifts Stretch and Strengthen The Glutes and Hamstrings At The Same Time . Isaac Is Using The Trap Bar.

Coach Shepard Teaching And Testing Isaac's Vertical Jump. "Eyes Straight-Lock-In Lower Back" It Is Virtually The Same Position As A Snatch or Clean.

Inclines Are A Great Auxilia ry Exercise After Power Cleans Are Taught, The Jazz Rookies Find It Easy To Do Power Snatches

From BFS Magazine — Winter 1991. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).