Jon Goering/Journal-World Photo St. Louis prep basketball player Bradley Beal (23) competes during a game Saturday, May 1, 2010, at Haskell's Coffin Complex.

Rail-thin 7-footer Isaiah Austin blew into the hand he’d placed over his mouth, pretending he was cooling off after draining a deep three-pointer in Compton (Calif.) Magic’s 98-77 victory over G&M Impact on Saturday in Haskell’s Coffin Complex.

“It’s just fun,” Austin, the flashy No. 2-ranked prospect in the recruiting Class of 2012, said of the game of basketball.

“I get to be a regular kid out there. I don’t have to worry about being 7-foot off the court, just worry about having fun on the court.”

The 212-pound sophomore from Grace Prep High School in Arlington, Texas, acknowledged that it’s sometimes difficult being so young and so darn tall.

“The showers at the hotels are little. I’d like them to make ’em a little bigger so I don’t have to bend down so far,” Austin, son of former NBA player Alex Austin and nephew of former pro Ike Austin, said with a smile.

The hotel beds could be bigger, too, for somebody who has been so long for such a long time.

“I don’t remember any growth spurt. I was 6-8 in eighth grade. I’ve always been tall,” Austin said, noting his growth spurt actually may be coming. “I keep growing. The doctors predict I’ll be 7-3.”

Does he want to be that tall?

“I mean, not really,” he said. “Seven-three is kind of hard to work with on the court, as you can see in the league for Thabeet. Seven-foot is good for me, though.”

He was referring to the struggles of 7-foot-3, 270-pound Hasheem Thabeet, the former UConn center who played sparingly for Memphis and spent time in the NBADL during his first pro season.

Austin, who has yet to compile a serious list of prospective colleges, realizes most analysts are looking ahead to his days in the NBA. He likely will be a one-and-done in college.

“There’s definitely no guarantee of that,” Austin said. “I’ve just got to keep working, keep playing. If it works out, it works out. If it doesn’t, I always have my grades.”

Wearing goggles all weekend long, just like his uncle Ike did at Arizona State, he exhibited a decent touch from the outside to go with some nice moves — and vicious dunks — on the inside.

Austin didn’t rule the boards as one might expect, though.

“I’m on a strict weight-gaining diet five days a week,” said Austin, who realizes he needs to get bigger as soon as possible. “I eat four meals a day and drink protein shakes. I’ve got to keep progressing, get stronger and hopefully be 220, 225 (pounds) by the end of the summer. Hopefully my senior year I’ll be able to become a McDonald’s All-American.”

Kansas University, of course, has been home to many McDonald’s All-Americans.

“They’re definitely up there. It’s close to home,” Austin said of KU. “I’m definitely keeping my eyes open. I’ll go anywhere, wherever fits me.”

His Compton teammate — Jahii Carson — already knows a lot about KU.

The 5-11, 160-pound junior from Mesa High in Phoenix is a good friend of KU signee Royce Woolridge, a 6-3 senior from Phoenix Sunnyslope.

“Royce and I have known each other since we were 8. We played together growing up until high school when we split up and went to different club teams,” Carson said. “We used to be best friends. Now we live on different sides of town.”

He sees big things from Woolridge at KU.

“His first year, I expect him to fill in, play a role and do what he’s supposed to be doing,” Carson said. “I don’t think he’ll try to overstep his boundaries. He’ll do an excellent job at KU.”

Carson, who has yet to hear from KU, said he’d love for the Jayhawks to recruit him. As of now, he lists all the Pac-10 schools, plus Boston College, Seton Hall, Villanova, West Virginia, Michigan State and Oklahoma.

“Insane,” big-man Austin said, asked to describe Carson’s game. “I’ve never seen a kid jump like that in my life or anybody as fast as him or who could shoot it like him on a consistent basis.”

The Compton Magic, who needed to catch a 6 p.m. flight to Californa, defeated Minnesota Fury Blue in Sunday’s Jayhawk Invitational semifinals, then forfeited the 3:30 p.m., championship game.

The 2010 Invitational title went to the St. Louis Eagles, who defeated KC Pump N Run in the other semifinal.

Future University of Florida guard Brad Beal of the Eagles was named 17-and-under MVP. Joining him on the all-tournament team were Carson and Austin of the Magic; Shabazz Muhammad of Dream Vision; Corey Hilliard of KC Pump N Run; and Roosevelt Jones of the Eagles. Marcus Smart of the Texas Assault won 16-and-under MVP, and Ishmael Wainright of the KC 76ers was 15-and-under MVP. Their teams won their respective age-group titles.

Beal, a 6-3 junior from St. Louis Chaminade High, commited to Florida last November over KU, Illinois, Missouri, Duke, Ohio State and Saint Louis.

He said he’s glad he announced so early in the recruiting process.

“A lot of calls were getting hectic — all the mail and everything, people asking me what school are you going to. It was a big weight off my back,” Beal said. “I can sit back, relax and play basketball.”

He said he can understand why other high schoolers wait to commit.

“It’s up to the prospect,” he said. “If they feel they want to wait on a certain school, you just have to wait. If you know the school you want to go to, just get it over with.”

He said he remains solid in his commitment to Florida.