SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Kevin Augustine Signs LOI With
Nebraska Cornhuskers--(May 2, 2000)

We received several e-mails this morning concerning the signing of former Mater Dei star and former USC point guard Kevin Augustine (6'-0" So. PG) by Nebraska today.  One of those e-mails was from from Bob Gottlieb who runs the BWBA Recruiting Assistance Service, who wanted us to know that he had worked closely with Kevin and his family and had assisted in Kevin's recruiting by Nebraska coach Barry Collier. . . but more on that later. This is, after all, about the signing of Kevin Augustine. 

This past year Kevin attended Fullerton JC as a student but he didn't play basketball, in order to  preserve an additional year of eligibility, and thus he will have two years of eligibility remaining with Nebraska. Augustine also performed very well a few weeks ago at the adidas Double Pump "Super 40" workouts, and lots of college coaches were impressed.   Augustine was most recently recruited by Notre Dame,  Baylor, San Diego State, Pepperdine and University of the Pacific in addition to Nebraska.

Evidently, Nebraska has not yet received the actual signed LOI (at least they haven't acknowledged it publicly), and thus under NCAA rules, the school was unable to confirm or deny the signing.  But according to an article in the Lincoln Star Journal, a local paper back in Nebraska, the signing is all but a formality, and was confirmed by Kevin's mother.

But even more interesting than the usual official, bland press release which we were unable to find today, the Lincoln Star Journal article by sportswriter Curt McKeever had some amazingly candid quotes from Gary McKnight, Augustine's former high school coach at Mater Dei.  Proving that coach McKnight is ever the controversial figure who likes to speak his mind, sometimes incredibly bluntly, some of the quotes are just amazing, even for the sharp-tongued McKnight who just blasted Henry Bibby, essentially calling Bibby a "liar."  We're willing to bet that with comments like those below, it will be a long time before you see Mater Dei kids getting recruited by USC, and likewise, McKnight won't be recommending the Trojans to any of his players in the near future.

NU BASKETBALL: NU lures another guard from USC
BY CURT McKEEVER Lincoln Journal Star

Another point guard recycled from the University of Southern California is coming to Nebraska.

Kevin Augustine, who played for the Trojans in 1997-98 and one semester as a sophomore, has signed a national letter of intent to become a Husker beginning next season.

Augustine could not be reached for comment, but his mother told his high school coach Monday that he had committed to NU.

Augustine, who visited the Nebraska campus this weekend, will be the second former USC point guard on the NU roster. Danny Walker began his college career with the Trojans when Augustine was a senior in high school. He left after that season and ended up at Compton (Calif.) Community College before enrolling at Nebraska last season. [SoCalHoops' Note: Walker was also a standout for Coach Sam Sullivan at John C. Fremont High School where he played varsity for four years and earned All-City and All-State honors, including  being selected "City Player-of-the-Year as a senior.  Walker was also LA's "Freshman of the Year" in 1993.  During Walker's senior season, Fremont advanced to the City Finals and the State Regional final (i.e., the overall semifinals) and he averaged an amazing 26.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists during that same senior year].

The 6-foot, 185-pound Augustine did not play organized basketball last season and is attending Fullerton (Calif.) College to get his associate's degree.

Gary McKnight, who coached Augustine at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., said Nebraska is getting a lightning-quick type of player.

"Kevin was as good a point guard as I've ever had, and I've had some pretty good ones," said McKnight, who's been the Mater Dei coach for 18 seasons. "Kevin Augustine is a flat-out player. He's explosive." McKnight said Augustine was one of three or four players he's had who played with the varsity for four seasons. As a sophomore, he led Mater Dei to the California Division I-A state championship. Mater Dei also won the CIF Southern Section Division crown when Augustine was a junior and senior. During his final season there, he averaged 19.4 points, 8.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds.

At Southern California, Augustine started 10 of 26 games as a freshman, averaging 6.3 points, 3.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds. The next year, he missed some preseason workouts for personal reasons, then played in just seven games before leaving the team after the fall semester.

McKnight said Augustine had a falling out with USC Coach Henry Bibby.

"They basically lied to him. They recruited him to be their top point guard, then went out and got somebody else," McKnight said. "He (Bibby) has no loyalty toward players. His only loyalty is toward himself." Walker also left USC disenchanted with Bibby.

Despite being bothered by a tendonitis in his right shoulder, Augustine led USC in assists 14 times as a freshman. He was on the Pac-10 Conference honorable mention all-freshman team and also received USC's John Rudometkin 110 percent effort award.

"Augustine is an incredibly quick point guard who darts around and changes directions on the court like a tropical fish charging after every bit of flake food in the aquarium," wrote Steve Fryer of the Orange County Register when he was at USC. "He's also a tremendous leaper who can go high above the rim to catch a lob pass and smash the ball through the hoop." Augustine's signing leaves Nebraska with the NCAA maximum of 13 scholarship players. The Huskers do have one recruit signed by former coach Danny Nee last fall -- Eddie Baker of Jacksonville, Fla. -- who is still trying to achieve NCAA academic requirements for incoming freshmen.

And for those of you local SoCal fans who've forgotten most of what you ever knew about Kevin, here's some info from his "bio" page when he was at USC two years ago (ok, so we've deleted the quotes from Bibby which were on the official USC site. . . ):

1997-98: As a true freshman, Augustine averaged 6.3 points, 3.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game. In Pac-10 games, he averaged 7.9 points and 3.9 assists. Despite being hampered all season by tendinitis in the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, Kevin led the Trojans in assists 14 times (including 11 of the last 14 games). He earned a Pac-10 All-Freshman Honorable Mention selection and was given the John Rudometkin 110% Effort Award at the team banquet. In the upset of No. 2 Arizona, Kevin scored eight points and passed out a game-high seven assists. He assisted on Adam Spanich's three-pointer that sent the game into overtime and also made the inbounds pass to Spanich, who dropped in another three-pointer at the buzzer for the win. Against UCLA, Kevin scored 12 points and also had four assists and three rebounds. He hit a three-pointer with 1:16 left to put the Trojans in front, 70-66 (USC went on to lose in overtime, 82-75). Against Washington, he scored a career-high 17 points (4-of-6 from the field) and also had six assists and four steals. Against Oregon, Kevin scored eight points before making the key play in the game, blocking a three-point attempt by Duck guard Terik Brown with two seconds left and USC leading 62-59.

HIGH SCHOOL: Augustine led Mater Dei High (Santa Ana, Calif.) to a 34-2 record and its sixth consecutive CIF Southern Section Division I-A championship as a senior in 1997, averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. In the final game, he had 32 points, six assists and six rebounds in an 88-70 victory over Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) Etiwanda High. Most of his points in that contest came courtesy of a perfect 18-for-18 performance at the free throw line. Kevin shot 55% from the floor (211-of-385) during his senior season for the Monarchs. His 1997 honors included USA Today All-USA Boys Basketball honorable mention, Street & Smith High School All-America fourth team, CIF Southern Section Division I Player of the Year and first-team All-CIF selection, All-State Division I, Orange County Register Player of the Year, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first-team, South Coast League Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and Cal-Hi Sports All-California First-Five team. Recruiting experts Van Coleman and Bob Gibbons ranked him as the 35th and 50th top prospect in the country, respectively. In his best game, Augustine had 39 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds and eight steals.

As a junior in 1996, he averaged 18.5 points, leading Mater Dei to a 34-2 record and the CIF Southern Section I-A title. He shot 52 percent from the field and averaged 6.5 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game. Augustine made Street & Smith's High School All-America Underclassmen honorable mention list and was named to the All-CIF Southern Section Division I first team for the second consecutive year.

As a sophomore in 1995, Kevin's Mater Dei team won the state championship.

SIDELIGHTS: Kevin, who was born in Brea, Calif., on Feb. 24, 1979, is majoring in communications at USC. He is also know for his talent as a sketch artist. Kevin specializes in animation and, of course, drawing basketball players, including himself. His biggest sports hero is Michael Jordan "because he is the greatest player to ever pick up a basketball." And he lists Stephon Marbury as the toughest player he's ever played against. His full name is Kevin Todd Augustine.

In addition to Augustine, who rounds out the final scholarship available to Nebraska for next season, here's a look at the rest of the roster:

2000-2001 Husker Roster Breakdown
(Scholarship Players Only)
Seniors (5): Cookie Belcher, 6-4, G; Steffon Bradford, 6-6, F; Rodney Fields, 6-2, G; Kimani Ffriend, 6-11, C; Danny Walker, 6-1, G
Juniors (5): Cary Cochran, 6-1, G; Kedrick Ford, 6-2, G; John Robinson, 6-1, G; Louis Truscott, 6-7, F; Danai Young, 6-4, G/F
Sophomores (0)
Freshmen (2): Eddie Baker, 6-6, F; Brian Conklin, 6-11, F/C*
*-Redshirted in 1999-2000

Oh yes . . . . one final note: In addition to the news of signing Augustine, Bob Gottlieb also wrote in his e-mail (which was not nearly as detailed as the above) that wanted us to also know that his BWBA Recruiting Assistance Service had also successfully assisted several other players who also signed scholarships during the late spring signing period,  including  Nebraska's "Mr. Basketball" Zack Fortune (6'-2" Sr. SG/PG) who signed at Iowa State last week, Ben Jacobson (6'-7" Sr. PF/SF) from Omaha, Nebraska, who signed at Lamar, Zack Spivey (6'-10" Sr. C) from Coronado HS in Lubbock,  Texas, who signed at Sacred Heart College in Fairfield, Conn.,  and Casey Cortez (6'-8" Postgrad F) from Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia, who signed at Northwestern, all of whom played for Gottlieb's BWBA Orange team at the Pump Easter Tournament last month.

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