Richie pulls the trigger

The Broncos received their second last verbal for 2011. Austin Richie confirmed that he had given his verbal to Western Michigan. Richie claimed 20 offers after the July AAU period. "I had a pretty good AAU," said Richie. "We played in a ton of tournaments against some of the best talent in the nation. Recruiting really heated up after that."

Richie admits that it came down to Valpo and WMU. "I loved Coach Homer and his staff, and a really like Coach Hawk and his staff. I wanted to put a little more distance between my home and the school, but I wanted something close enough that my family could make it to a lot of games."

Richie's brother Nate is also his coach. Nate played for WMU after being recruited by Bob Donawald, and transferred when Coach McCallum came on board. "That was hard on my brother, but he supported my decision all the way," stated Richie. "Even though it didn't work out for him, he had a good relationship with Coach Hawkins while he was there."

Richie was the second leading scorer in Indiana, and is the top returning scorer in Indiana this year. He averaged 28 points per game as a junior, and missed 5 games with a broken hand.

Richie's team returns three starters and he expects big things for his team and for himself. Do you expect to see a lot of gimmick defenses thrown at you? "Teams threw a lot of gimmick defenses at me last year. I've seen about everything. I can score in a variety of ways, and can create my own shot."

Austin Richie is a WMU Broncos.

Check out the Zoo for some interesting info on the recruiting of Austin Richie.