PRINCETON — Deven Austin can’t wait to remind people what he can do on a basketball court. It’s been over a year since fans have last seen him explode to the rim for one of the dazzling dunks that quickly made him a favorite on Old Nassau. Austin missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL he suffered during a February 2023 practice in his freshman season. “I feel great,” Austin said recently at the team’s media day. “I did a lot of rehab over the summer and during the spring. Austin appeared in 22 games that freshman season and had carved out a key role as a lanky slashing wing with some serious hops. He won admirers with his high-flying style and was the Ivy League Rookie of the Week right before his season ended. There was hope he could return at some point last season, but it never materialized. Instead, he decided to take the year off to retain his sophomore season of eligibility. That was the hardest part. “No one wants to go through this and you never think it’s going to be you,” said Austin, who averaged 5.4 points in 15.1 minutes per game in 2022-23. “When it is, it’s such a hard thing mentally having to trust your knee every day. When I first got on the court, I was a little scared, but I trusted the work I did over the summer and the spring and when I finally got back the court it felt natural.” Now comes the reintegration into the team. “It’s been a long time since Deven has played in a situation like this,” coach Mitch Henderson said. “Those kind of injuries take time. This is almost a year and a half or more since he’s played in this environment, so Deven has to have a little forgiveness that it’s not going to happen every night.” Essentially, you can’t make up for a lost season in one night. “The game tends to come your way when you are not trying too hard. When you are trying to do too much you get frustrated,” Henderson said. “I would just say have a little grace (because) it’s going to take some time. He has such a unique ability to affect the game; he’s so long and athletic.” Princeton’s Deven Austin is back from an ACL injury that cost him all of last season. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Austin admitted that was hard to do at first, but he now understands what’s being asked of him. “I’m trying to do stuff I was doing freshman year and play out of my mind doing all this stuff,” he said. “(The coaches) are trying to keep me at bay and reel me in. Tell me it’s a day-by-day process. I’m still trying to show people what I can do, but definitely taking it one day at a time and not trying to force anything to crazy.” When Princeton opens the season on Nov. 4 against Iona, he’ll likely be tasked with providing that same spark off the bench he was already doing pre-injury. “I just hope I can help us win, whatever that may be,” Austin said. “If coach wants me to play defense on their best player, I’ll do that. If he wants me to come in and post up and score, I’ll do that. If he wants me to be a cheerleader on the bench, I’ll do that.” He has, however, thought about that first basket this season. “Hopefully,” Austin said, “it’s a dunk.”