One of the breakout starts during the first live evaluation period was Boo Williams (Va.) 2024 guard Austin Swartz. Swartz landed seven scholarship offers during and after the weekend. One was from the Indiana basketball program.
Indiana assistant coaches Kenya Hunter and Yasir Rosemond were following Swartz closely throughout the weekend.
Among the programs to offer in the last 48 hours are Indiana, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Maryland and others.
In four games, Swartz averaged 21.8 points per game — third most during the first session.
“Honestly these last few days have been crazy,” Swartz told HoosierIllustrated.com. “I’ve just been trying to take it one day at a time and keep a level head. I’m (going to) keep doing what got me to this point.”
Swartz was terrific. His shooting ability is what stood out to everyone watching. He was 16-of-33 (48.5 percent) from three on the weekend.
His best performance was Saturday morning when he had 29 points on 10-of-19 from the field and 5-of-11 from three against NH Lightning. NH Lightening has five-star UNC commit Elliot Cadeau, top-30 Auburn commit Tahaad Pettiford, top-100 wing of Overtime Elite Jakhi Howard and five-star 2025 guard Meleek Thomas in its backcourt.
Swartz came out looking like the best offensive player on the floor.
“In terms of my performance, I feel like I did pretty good in my first EYBL session,” Swartz said. “I was able to show my game to the best of my ability. What I took from this weekend is the competition level is insane, every single last team is good. What to build on moving forward is the chemistry with my team, just trying to get used to playing with them.”
Swartz can make 3s off of the dribble or as a spot up shooter. He uses screens very well off of the ball. He had three 3s in every game, and at least four 3s in three games. He’s a 6-foot-4 guard who has a strong build and can get into the mid-range to find his shot. Swartz showed he is a true shot-maker.
In the final game of the weekend, he played most of his minutes on the ball as the primary ball handler. While that’s not his strength, he showed a decent ability to get the offense in its sets.
“In terms of my skillset I can do both, play on or off the ball. Not only make shots for myself but also for my teammates,” Swartz said. “In terms of my scouting report, every knows I can score. One of my underrated things is my playmaking.”
Playing alongside Austin Swartz is key 2024 Indiana basketball target Jaeden Mustaf. Mustaf is visiting Indiana in June and has the Hoosiers as one of his top schools.
This is just the first summer that Swartz and Mustaf have played together but the two backcourt players averaged 42.5 points per game combined in the first live session. They have briefly talked about what it would be like playing together at the next level.
“I have a little bit,” Swartz said of teaming up with Mustaf in college. “We have only played one session together, but we believe we complement each other greatly.”
When it comes to Indiana, Swartz has a great initial impression.
“Indiana is a great program for basketball,” Swartz said. “They have put plenty of guys in the NBA. One name that comes to my mind is of course Jalen Hood-Schifino and how they have transformed him into an NBA (one-and-done) prospect.
“I was excited for sure. Indiana is a hell of a place to play basketball at.”
Swartz plays for Cannon (N.C.) High School and is ranked No. 131 in the 247Sports rankings and the No. 25 overall shooting guard in the class.
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