The name Clyde Austin is back in the basketball news. Only it’s not the Clyde Austin readers might remember.

In fact, not one but two Clyde Austins are shooting hoops, albeit far from Richmond.

The sons of the legendary Clyde “the Glide” Austin of Maggie L. Walker High School fame, and Patricia Austin are scholarship players for different colleges in the Midwest.

Clyde Edward Austin Jr., answering to “Eddie,” is a 21-year-old junior at Doane University in Crete, Neb.

Clyde Anderson Austin, answering to “Trey,” is a 20-year-old freshman at Wentworth Military Academy and College in Lexington, Mo.

Both young men grew up in Henderson, Nev., just south of Las Vegas, and played at Green Valley High and Coronado High in Clark County.

In a telephone interview, Eddie Austin said this about his celebrated father: “Yes, I know about his career and I’ve seen video of his college games. He taught us everything — how to put on our shoes, our shirts. He’s been an inspiration. He never gives up on us. He has been the perfect dad.”

And for his mother, Patricia, who originally is from Raleigh, N.C., he said, “Super. She’s the key.”

A slender 6-foot-3, Eddie Austin averaged five points in 17 games (with seven starts) for the NAIA Doane Tigers before taking time off to concentrate on academics.

“I can’t wait to get back on the court,” he said.

“Eddie is a pretty athletic two-guard. He can run for days and is a good shooter. He just needs to get a little bigger and stronger,” said Doane Coach Ian McKeithen.

Trey Austin is 6-foot-1 guard who has started eight of 21 games for Wentworth junior college.

He had 12 points — 6-for-6 from the floor — in a Jan. 21 game against Little Priest Tribal College of Winnebago, Neb., and was named the Red Dragons’ Player of the Week.

“Trey’s not the flashiest or quickest, but he does the little things to help us win,” said Wentworth Coach Matt Brown, a former University of Richmond assistant under former Coach John Beilein.

Trey Austin participates in Wentworth’s ROTC and has the option of joining the U.S. Army in August as a second lieutenant in the early commission program.

“Trey’s goal is a military career,” said Eddie Austin. “My goal is to play pro basketball.”

Trey Austin was unavailable for a phone interview because of Wentworth’s strict military restrictions.

The Austin family patriarch has had legal difficulties. In 2004, he was sentenced in federal court to 17 years in prison for fraud and money laundering in a pyramid scheme.

Since his release, he has been working at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Long before, he was the talk of the town wearing No. 3 for Coach Pierce Callaham’s Green Dragons at Richmond’s Maggie Walker High School.

Between 1972 and 1976, he scored 2,158 points and dazzled with a flamboyant style. Only Tyrese Rice (2,328 points for L.C. Bird High School, 2001 through 2005) and Tyree Evans (2,251 for George Wythe High School, 2000 through 2004) ever netted more among area public school players.

And consider this: His point total was before the 3-point shot. It’s safe to say he averaged several such shot each game beyond the current 20-foot arc.

The elder Austin capped his career in 1976 by leading Maggie L. Walker to the State Group AAA title, defeating R.E. Lee High School of Springfield 82-68 in the finals in Charlottesville.

He was among the greatest guards in Richmond area history based only on high school play.

He went on to sparkle for four years at North Carolina State University (1,383 points, 473 assists) and was a second-round draft choice of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers in 1980.

Bypassing the NBA, he thrilled audiences over the next eight years with the Harlem Globetrotters, combining round-ball skill with comic antics.

Clyde “The Glide” was an impressive player by any standards. But he was more than that. He specialized in scoring points and putting smiles on faces, and not necessarily in that order.

Many of his old fans still can’t help but smile, just at the mention of his name.