North Dakota forward signs on for Buffs’ 2008 recruiting class
Killdeer, North Dakota, isn’t exactly a tourist magnet.
The town of 700 on the edge of the North Dakota badlands has a Wal-Mart, a factory and a McDonald’s 35 miles down the road. And that’s pretty much it.
It’s easy to miss.
And so was Austin Dufault.
The Austin Dufault File
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 210 pounds
Position: Power forward
High school: Killdeer High School (Killdeer, N.D.)
AAU team: ECI Gold West
On his versatility: “He played at the 3, 4 and 5 mostly,” said ECI Gold West coach Steve Grabowski. “At times we had him bring the ball up. If we wanted to showcase him, we’d give him the ball at mid-range or on the post.”
For nearly all his high school career, the 6-foot-8 forward at Killdeer High School was like his city – off the radar. But after a series of breakout performances this summer, Dufault rocketed up the recruiting boards to being considered the No. 32 high school power forward in the country.
Dufault, rated a three-star recruit, made a verbal commitment to Colorado’s 2008 basketball recruiting class last week.
As soon as three months ago however, he hadn’t received any interest. Before July, nobody had even bothered to visit Killdeer.
“Killdeer is tiny,” said Steve Grabowski, Dufault’s coach on the ECI Gold West AAU summer leagues team. “The state of North Dakota isn’t highly recruited. We get maybe one Division I player in the state every year.”
Dufault averaged 20 points and 8 rebounds per game his junior season, but thanks in part to the regional bias, he was passed over.
“A lot of times, kids will play well, but the competition is so bad that you can’t tell how a kid will play at the next level,” Grabowski said.
Dufault joined Grabowski’s team, ECI Gold West. As part of the AAU, the team is a way to showcase the little-exposed players in the western Dakotas.
ECI Gold West first traveled to tournaments in Kentucky and Indiana, where Louisville and some other colleges began to show mild interest, Grabowski said. Once a complete unknown, Dufault was now a blip on the corner of the screen.
The offers didn’t roll in until mid-July when ECI Gold West traveled to the Reebok Summer Championship in Las Vegas. The team advanced to the “A League” championship game.
“There were a ton of big-time coaches out there to watch the game,” Grabowski said. “After that, the offers went from zero to a lot in about a month.”
Suddenly, the oft-ignored Dufault was the man of interest. He received offers to play at Arizona State, Creighton, Minnesota, Montana State, North Dakota State and Washington State, as well as Colorado.
“He wanted that higher challenge of playing in a big-time league,” Grabowski said.
In choosing Colorado, Dufault joins Trey Eckhoff and Toby Veal as the third player 6-foot-8 or taller to commit to the class.
Dufault is considered a perimeter shooting forward. He is extremely versatile and played everything from the point to the post with ECI Gold West, Grabowski said. However, he thrives in mid-to-long range.
“He’s a very skilled 6-foot-8 kid,” Grabowski said. “Very talented. But he’s not the type of guy who will pound the paint every time he gets the ball.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Justin Coons at justin.coons@thecampuspress.com
