Personal
Parents are Danny and Michelle Ainge ... father Danny is former BYU All-American, NBA All-Star and Phoenix Suns head coach and current executive director of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics ... has three brothers and two sisters ... first cousin Eric is a quarterback at Tennessee ... served mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Dominican Republic ... he and wife Crystal have one son ... sociology major.
Before BYU
HIGHLAND HIGH SCHOOL: Ainge averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists as a senior point guard at Highland High School ... Fiesta Conference First Team and Conference MVP ... East Valley Region First Team and East Valley MVP ... second-team All-State ... as a junior, averaged 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists ... an outstanding student with a 3.9 GPA ... earned honorable-mention all-state honors as a junior while being named to the All-East Valley First Team ... a Street & Smith Preseason All-Phoenix First Team selection.
Summary
A floor leader with excellent understanding of the game, Austin Ainge finished his BYU career averaging 6.6 points on .436 shooting from the floor while adding 3.5 assists per game. After being injured just prior to the start of his first two seasons, Ainge earned the starting point guard spot in 2004-05, finishing the year third in the MWC in assists and receiving All-MWC honorable mention honors. He was named a co-captain for the 2005-06 season and played a key role off the bench before starting 26 of 34 games as a senior and earning All-MWC Honorable Mention honors a second time. He also led the league in three-point shooting and was third in assist/turnover ratio in league play. Ainge accepted an assistant coaching position at Southern Utah University at the conclusion of his senior season.
Stats
CAREER HIGHS POINTS: 25 at Colorado State (2005) FG MADE: 8 at Colorado State (2005) FG ATT: 14 at Colorado St. (2005), vs. Xavier-NCAA (2007) FG %: 1.000 (6-6) vs. SDSU (2006) 3FG MADE: 5 vs. TCU, at SDSU (2007), at CSU (2005) 3FG ATT: 9 at USU, CSU (2005) 3FG %: 1.000 (4-4) vs. SDSU (2006) FT MADE: 7 vs. Wyoming (2007), at UNLV (2005) FT ATT: 8 vs. Wyoming (2007), vs. Utah State (2005) FT %: 1.000 (5-5) at Boise State (2007) REB: 9 vs. Seton Hall (2007) ASSISTS: 10 at UNLV (MWC Finals) (2007) BLOCKS: 1 (4 times) last vs. Utah (2007) STEALS: 4 at Weber State, vs. SDSU (2005) MIN: 42 at UNLV (2005) AINGE YEAR-BY-YEAR BYU STATS Year GP-GS Min--Avg FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct 2003-04 8-0 36--4.5 4-8 .500 1-4 .250 1-2 .500 2004-05 30-23 831--27.7 97-226 .429 39-113 .345 52-66 .788 2005-06 29-4 431--14.9 38-93 .409 17-47 .362 12-18 .667 2006-07 34-26 887-26.1 83-182 .456 56-117 .479 46-62 .742 Total 101-53 2185--21.6 222-509 .436 113-277 .408 111-148 .750 Year Off-Def-Tot--Avg PF-FO A--Avg TO Blk Stl Pts--Avg 2003-04 0-3-3--0.4 6-0 6--0.8 6 1 0 10--1.3 2004-05 11-77-88--2.9 54-1 124--4.1 97 1 32 285--9.5 2005-06 3-44-47--1.6 26-0 75--2.6 45 1 21 105--3.6 2006-07 10-90-100--2.9 53-0 150--4.4 79 1 22 268--7.9 Total 24-214-238--2.4 139-1 355--3.5 227 4 75 668--6.6
After missing the first nine games with an injury, Ainge made his collegiate debut vs. Idaho State at the Cable Car Classic, hitting his only shot to score 2 points and grabbing 1 rebound in 2 minutes ... saw his first extended playing time vs. CSU in Provo, logging a season-best 10 minutes, including first-half action for the first time, while scoring a season-best 6 points on 2-of-3 shooting and adding a season-high 2 assists ... also played 10 minutes at Air Force ... played well in 4 first-half minutes vs. SDSU, grabbing a season-high 2 rebounds ... played 6 minutes vs. New Mexico ... appeared in eight games overall, averaging 1.3 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 4.5 minutes per outing ... shot 50 percent from the floor, including 1-of-4 three attempts and 1-of-2 from the line ... averaged 6.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.0 apg and 0.5 spg in 16.9 minutes during 2003 summer tour in Australia.
An All-MWC honorable mention pick, Ainge was third in the MWC in assists in league games (4.6 apg) and overall (4.1 apg) ... led the team in assists and was second in scoring (9.5 pgg) and steals (32) while averaging 2.9 rpg and starting in 23 of 30 games ... recorded one double-double while leading the Cougars in assists 22 times, steals six times and rebounds three times ... scored in double figures 13 times ... had 5 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and only 1 turnover in MWC Tournament vs. UNM ... scored 10 points against UNLV while adding 5 assists with no turnovers ... recorded a team-high 17 points at Utah while adding 6 assists and 5 rebounds ... had 9 points, hitting two threes, and added 4 assists and 1 steal at UNM ... contributed 10 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists against Colorado State ... recorded 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists vs. Wyoming ... scored 19 points, including 12 in overtime, to seal BYU's win at UNLV ... led BYU against Utah with 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting while adding 5 assists ... tied career-best 8 assists with only 2 turnovers while grabbing 4 rebounds in 23 minutes vs. New Mexico ... recorded 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 points against Air Force ... scored career-best 25 points at CSU with new personal bests of 8 FG, 14 FGA and 5 3FG (tying 9 3FGA) while adding a game-high 6 assists ... scored 10 points and tied career-high 8 assists against MSU-Billings ... had career-best 4 steals and 5 assists, 6 rebounds and 9 points vs. SDSU ... played 37 minutes vs. Santa Clara with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals ... his 7 rebounds was a career-high and his 7 assists were one shy of his career mark ... made 4 treys in 5 attempts vs. Southern Utah, scoring 14 points with 5 assists ... played 34 minutes at Weber State with career-high 4 steals, along with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists ... dished out a career-high 8 assists along with 9 points and 4 rebounds vs. N.C. State ... made his second start of the year vs. Utah State and scored 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3 treys, and 6-of-8 from the line ... scored 16 points on 58 percent (7-for-12) shooting in 31 minutes against Washington State ... came off the bench to dish out 5 assists while adding 14 points and 5 rebounds against Boise State ... made his first start and scored 7 points on 2-for-2 shooting, including one three-pointer, at USC ... scored 15 points at Utah State on Dec. 1 ... played backup point minutes at the Maui Invitational, averaging 2.7 points and 1.0 assists ... scored 6 points vs. North Carolina, going 2-for-3 from behind the extended three-point arc.
Co-captain along with Brock Reichner ... played in every game, starting four, and averaged 3.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game ... 11th among MWC players in assists while helping BYU lead the MWC in assists ... scored in double figures twice and led the Cougars in assists seven times ... drained his only shot attempt of the night, a three-pointer, while recording 3 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 14 minutes at Houston in the NIT ... went 2-for-2 from the field and 1-for-1 from the free-throw line to notch 5 points in 10 minutes against Utah in the MWC Tournament while adding 1 rebound and 1 assist ... played 9 minutes against New Mexico, recording 1 assist and 1 steal ... drained both of his three-point attempts to score 6 points while adding 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 9 minutes vs. Colorado State ... came off the bench to lead BYU with 6 assists at TCU while adding 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals in 17 minutes ... finished with a season-high 16 points against San Diego State on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting night, including 4-for-4 from three-point range ... made an immediate impact upon entering the game, draining back-to-back three-pointers for BYU to cut a six-point Aztec lead to just two and spark a 15-4 Cougar run that allowed BYU to regain the lead at 26-2 ... dished out 3 assists with 2 rebounds, 1 point and 1 steal in 12 minutes vs. UNLV ... his 3 assists came in 6 first-half minutes to spark a BYU run that helped the Cougars build a game-high 17-point lead ... tied his season high with 4 rebounds in just 9 minutes of play against Air Force while recording 3 points ... played 11 minutes at New Mexico, recording 3 rebounds and 1 steal ... led BYU with 6 assists while recording 5 points, 2 steals, 1 rebound and 1 block in 21 minutes at Colorado State ... finished with 3 points and 2 assists in his fourth start of the season, a 13-minute outing against TCU ... made his third start of the season at San Diego State, contributing 4 points on 2-for-4 shooting, 1 rebound and 1 assist in 21 minutes ... started in place of Rashaun Broadus against Wyoming and scored a season-high 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting while recording 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals ... went 2-for-3 from three-point range to score 6 points while recording 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 21 minutes off the bench at UNLV ... came off the bench to score 6 points while contributing 2 assists in 15 minutes at Air Force ... scored 5 points on 2-of-3 shooting with 1 rebound and 1 assist in 15 minutes vs. Tulsa ... had 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 rebounds and 1 point in 13 minutes vs. Eastern Washington ... dished out 7 assists without a turnover in 22 minutes at Utah State, while adding a season-high 3 steals ... sparked BYU in the first half with 3 of his 4 assists, including a no-look pass to set up Trent Plaisted on the break ... added 4 rebounds and 2 points in 17 minutes vs. Weber State ... scored 3 points while adding 4 assists in 16 minutes against Northern Kentucky ... scored a season-high 8 points, including 2 treys, with 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 13 minutes vs. Lamar in the Delta Center ... dished out a career-equaling 8 assists without a turnover in 16 minutes off the bench vs. SUU, including a perfectly timed cross-court pass to Jackson Emery at the basket for a Cougar fast-break score ... added 6 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals while shooting 3-for-4 from the floor ... came off the bench to share team-high honors with 5 assists while adding 2 points and 1 rebound in 17 minutes at Washington State ... his lone bucket of the game was a driving move in the paint to give BYU a 34-30 lead at the half ... made his 24th career start, but first as the shooting guard, in BYU's season opener vs. Loyola Marymount.
All-MWC Honorable Mention ... team co-captain ... started 26 of 34 games, including the last 19 straight, while averaging 7.9 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game ... led BYU in assists 22 times, rebounds four times and scoring twice ... scored in double figures 14 times on the year, including seven of the last nine games, and topped the 20-point mark once ... led the league in three-point shooting (.525) and was third in assist/turnover ratio (1.81) in MWC play ... also fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.90) and fifth in assists (4.41) overall ... scored 12 points, including 10 in the first half, against Xavier in the NCAA Tournament while adding 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 38 minutes ... recorded a career-high 10 assists with 3 points and 3 rebounds in 34 minutes at UNLV in the MWC Tournament Championship game ... his 10 assists marks the first double-digit assist game by a Cougar since current director of basketball operations Terry Nashif had 10 at USC in 2004 ... his new career total also came after reaching his previous best of 8 assists on seven different occasions, including three games this year ... shot 4-for-6 from the field, 3-for-3 from three-point range and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line to score 16 points while adding 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 rebound in 31 minutes against Wyoming in the MWC Tournament semifinals ... tied the BYU MWC Tournament record with 7 assists against TCU in the quarterfinals while adding 3 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal in 29 minutes ... scored 11 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in 30 minutes against Utah ... made his first four attempts from three-point range while scoring 14 points and adding 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in 31 minutes at then-No. 20 Air Force ... scored 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field, including a 5-for-8 mark from three-point range, while adding 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 20 minutes at San Diego State ... tied his career high with 8 assists against New Mexico while adding 13 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal in 36 minutes ... scored 15 points against New Mexico on 4-for-6 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-5 mark from three-point range, while draining all four of his free-throw attempts and adding 6 rebounds and 5 assists in 34 minutes ... scored 8 points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field to go along with 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 rebound in 31 minutes at TCU ... scored 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-4 mark from three-point range, against then-No. 25 UNLV while adding 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 28 minutes ... tied his career high with 8 assists while helping BYU tally a season-low 7 turnovers at Utah (Ainge - 2) ... also added 5 rebounds, 2 points and 1 steal in 36 minutes ... posted 8 boards to go along with 6 points and 5 assists in 34 minutes against then-No. 13 Air Force ... tied his career high with 8 assists with only one turnover at New Mexico while adding 8 points, 3 rebounds and 1 steal in 35 minutes ... shot 3-for-6 from the floor, including 2-for-4 from three-point range ... posted 6 assists at Colorado State while adding 4 rebounds and 1 steal in 25 minutes ... contributed 13 points with a 7-for-8 night from the free-throw line while adding 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal in 32 minutes against Wyoming ... made his first start in seven games against TCU, recording season highs of 20 points and 6 assists while shooting 7-for-9 (.778) from the field, including a 5-for-7 (.714) mark from three-point range, and adding 4 rebounds and 1 steal ... scored 8 of BYU's first 17 points in the game, helping the Cougars jump out to a 17-5 lead ... in 27 minutes off the bench, he scored a season-high 16 points and grabbed a career-best 9 rebounds with 3 assists to help BYU defeat Seton Hall and earn the BYU Holiday Classic crown ... had a season-high 6 assists against Oral Roberts to go along with 2 rebounds and 1 steal while tying his season-high with 30 minutes of action ... played 16 minutes against Liberty, recording 4 assists ... contributed 11 points on 3-for-3 shooting from the field while adding 4 assists and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes against Utah State ... had 14 points on 3-for-4 shooting from three-point range and 5-for-5 shooting from the free-throw line at Boise State while also added a season-high 4 rebounds and 2 assists ... started and scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 3-for-4 accuracy from three-point range ... shared game-high honors with teammate Sam Burgess by equaling a season-high 5 assists in 20 minutes vs. SUU ... drained his first three three-point attempts in BYU's home opener against Idaho State and finished the night 3-for-5 from long range for 9 points while recording a team-leading 4 assists in 17 minutes off the bench ... came off the bench to lead BYU with 5 assists while adding 6 points and 1 rebound at No. 5 UCLA.
Ainge was a redshirt in 2002-03 after returning from a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in August