Cannon School’s Austin Swartz shooting his way to the top of NC recruiting charts

Cannon School coach Che’ Roth is not surprised that rising junior Austin Swartz is beginning to get high major college attention and high major college offers.

Swartz missed nearly half of his sophomore season after undergoing minor knee surgery in November. Roth said his 6-foot-4 wing is finally beginning to find his groove.

“He’s gotten tremendously better” since the high school season ended, Roth said. “He’s just made a huge jump in how he carries himself. His work ethic has always been good. He’s always been a shot-maker, but I think the thing we see is his play-making ability has really improved and he’s gotten stronger and more explosive coming off that knee injury.”

Swartz will be one of the featured players at this weekend’s N.C. Independent Schools showcase at Queens University. College coaches will be able to come to the gym to watch private school teams play a series of games.

Last weekend, at the first session at Greensboro Day School, Swartz exploded for 40 and 28 points in back-to-back games and left the weekend with offers from Georgia, Houston and South Florida — plus a whole lot of major college interest.

“I’m just more comfortable now,” Swartz said, before politely stopping his postgame interview last week to talk with coaches from Georgia over the phone.

He returned after a few minutes and talked about the type of college he wants to attend — “somewhere that’s guard-oriented” — and about the gains he wants to make as his junior year approaches.

“I just want to become more of a complete player,” Swartz said. “Defense, making guys better, thinking the game more.”

Swartz grew up splitting time playing basketball and baseball. His brother, Josh, is a college pitcher with a 95-mph fastball. Austin played shortstop and outfield and was considered a top-flight junior player, but he stopped playing baseball right before high school.

“I liked basketball more,” he said, “and I don’t like being outside. I like the air conditioning, and baseball is kind of boring. Lots of standing.”

National recruiting analyst Rick Lewis of Phenom Hoop Report thinks Swartz made a good choice, naming him one of the fastest-rising N.C. prospects in what Lewis calls a loaded 2024 class in state.

“He’s a confident shooter with great technique and form, and he’s probably one of the state’s best 3-point shooters,” Lewis said. “And he already has a college-ready body and should translate easy to the next level. That tells you why he’s getting high-major offers. He just had to battle through the injuries last year. The potential has always been there.”

Roth said it’s almost scary to think that Swartz has two years of high school left to fully realize it.

“We’ve already seen tremendous growth,” Roth said, “and it’s been a blessing. He’s such a fun kid to coach because he has so much personality and he loves the game so much that you can really get into him and he knows it’s coming from a loving place. But he loves ball and you can really challenge him. The thing for him to take the next step is ‘What am I going to do, from a defensive standpoint and from a leadership standpoint,’ and, ‘How am I going to impact winning when the ball isn’t going through the hole?’

“And you know what, he’s starting to figure it out.”

Schedule for NCISAA Showcase

A bevy of college coaches are expecting to be at Queens University this weekend for the N.C. Independent Schools live period. Admission is $10 daily or $25 weekend pass for adults. Children are $10 daily or $15 for the weekend.

Players to watch

Langston Wertz Jr.

The Charlotte Observer

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Langston Wertz Jr. is an award-winning sports journalist who has worked at the Observer since 1988. He’s covered everything from Final Fours and NFL to video games and Britney Spears. Wertz -- a West Charlotte High and UNC grad -- is the rare person who can answer “Charlotte,” when you ask, “What city are you from.” Support my work with a digital subscription