Pope have strong sophomore campaign

After performing well at the Junior College Showcase in Las Vegas last summer, Austin Pope carried the positive momentum into his sophomore season at North Idaho College. The 6-foot-6, 175-pound guard is averaging more than 12 points, six rebounds and four assists per game.

"My coach looks at me as a point guard but I have been playing the combo role. I am going on the block when needed," said Pope, who originally hails from Burbank, Calif. "We have great players on this team so I kind of do a variety of things to showcase my talents."

While winning 21 of its first 27 games this season, North Idaho College is averaging the second most points in its conference. The Cardinals have two more games before the Region 18 Tournament, which begins on Feb. 26 in Price, Utah.

"We're clicking at the right time," Pope said. "Some teams in our league or across the country kind of peaked out already and I think our ceiling is out of the roof. We are beating teams at a high level and we're still not even shooting the ball as well as we're capable of."

Pope has bounced around a lot in recent years with other stops at Burbank High School, La Jolla High School, Los Angeles College Prep and Cerritos Junior College. He is hoping to find a more permanent home after finishing up his sophomore campaign at North Idaho College.

"I am hearing from Utah, TCU, Wichita State, Creighton, Missouri, Gonzaga, Washington State, Oregon State, Bowling Green, Toledo and Montana at the moment," Pope said. "They are still in the evaluation phase. Hopefully the ball is going to start rolling soon and there will be a domino effect where one offers and others follow suit."

The scouting report on Pope is that he has good basketball IQ and court vision. A rangy guard with a long reach, he is able to penetrate by his man with crafty hesitation moves and crossover dribbles. While not the quickest player, Pope has good defensive instincts and knows how to use his range to come up with steals. He is also able to dominate the defensive boards from his guard position.