SoCalHoops High School News

Kevin Augustine Will Seek
Release From USC--(Dec. 15, 1998)

According to a stories published today in both the Daily News and the Orange County Register,  Kevin Augustine (6'-0" So. PG) from Mater Dei, will ask Coach Henry Bibb to be released from the Trojan team today.  

The Daily News story was carried on the front page, right next to a picture of Kevin (left). In the story written by Frank Burlison, Kevin Augustine's father  was interviewed, and he confirmed that Kevin would be asking the coaching staff for his release.

"It's no one's fault," Lucky Augustine told Burlison, "but we feel Kevin is no longer in their plans, so we're going to remove him from the situation."

The Register story also continued with Lucky Augustine telling Burlison, "Coach (Henry) Bibby is out of town and won't be back until Wednesday, so he plans to tell (assistant coach) Silvey (Dominguez) this morning that he wants to be released from his scholarship. As soon as he is finished with his finals this week, we're going to check him out of school."

Bibby was unavailable for comment and Kevin Augustine declined to comment. 

Augustine started 10 games as a freshman for the Trojans, averaging 6.3 points and 3.8 assists a game.  It was widely speculated that he would leave the team, especially after Coach Bibby suspended Augustine following his absence from the team in November.  At that time, Augustine told the media that he "questioned" both his commitment to the team and the team's commitment to him, and he basically took a week off, returning to Yorba Linda.  He missed a week of practices and classes and was suspended shortly after.  Even though he was reinstated for the team's season opener against San Diego State on November 17, a game which USC won in a rout,  Augustine never started this season.  His minutes did slowly increase, but it was clear that he was not going to return to the starting spot which he held last season, especially given how well Brandon Granville has been playing. 

According to Burlison's article, Augusine will enroll at Fullerton JC for the spring semester and then weigh his options. "The people at USC have been great," Lucky Augustine told Burlison. "But it's obviously not the place for him. He's going to enroll at Fullerton College for the spring semester and then see what he wants to do next."

With Augustine leaving the team, don't be surprised if the Trojans now get very serious in looking at Tito Maddox (6'-4" Sr. SG) from Compton.  

Here's the official bio on Augustine from USC: 

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.

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