Bob Austin demonstrated a few trademarks last season, his first at Northwestern State, while helping the Demons to their best season ever culminated by a win in the NCAA Tournament.
He was always smiling and positive, said senior guard Jermaine Wallace, who called Austin "the happiest guy I've ever met."
He was always working, handling his responsibilities on the basketball staff flawlessly. He was always willing to lend a hand in whatever way he could, even if it meant getting a split lip while participating in an early season low-post drill.
Austin's debut with the Demons made him one of a handful of people to play in the NCAA Division II Tournament and to be on the basketball staff of a team playing in the Division I NCAA Tournament.
Austin worked with both the men's and women's basketball programs two years ago at Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colo., near his hometown of Highlands Ranch. Both Otero teams had outstanding seasons - the men, under coach Tim Moser, went 21-9, and the women, playing for coach Taylor Wagner, were 19-8.
He knew the territory, playing two seasons at Otero before signing with Alaska-Anchorage. He was voted the team's "Most Inspirational Player" and "Defensive Player of the Year" by his teammates in his senior year and received the "Rebounders Award" by the basketball boosters club. His Alaska-Anchorage team reached the Division II NCAA Tournament, falling in the fist round to BYU-Hawaii.
Austin graduated from Alaska-Anchorage in 2004 with an emphasis in history after being an honors graduate at Otero.
He is the son of Lou and Joanne Austin. His father works for a railroad retirement system and his mother is a retired special education teacher. His younger bother Matt played basketball at Pfieffer (N.C.) University.
