Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 5:36 pm  |  12 responses

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Catching up with Seimone Augustus

After a knee injury took Augustus out for the year, ‘Mone’ briefly checks in.

by Stephen Litel

Of course, I’m biased, but one of the interesting storylines of the 2009 WNBA season is how the Minnesota Lynx have managed to play relatively well without their star, Seimone Augustus. Only six games into the season, a torn ACL in her left knee sidelined Augustus for the remainder of the season. Although the team has come across some hard times as of late, they continue to hold on to a playoff berth, continuing the fight without their leader.

At home games for the Lynx, Augustus sits behind the team bench. At first, she sat with her left leg on the seats next to her to keep it elevated, but recently, ‘Mone’ sits upright, cheering like a fan during play and speaking like a coach during timeouts. If one feels like looking for a silver-lining from her injury it can be found by seeing the relatively quiet Augustus finding her voice and becoming comfortable speaking up, utilizing her time away from the court to improve one of her few weaknesses.

Yet, Augustus has not spoken with the media much during that same timeframe, so when the opportunity to speak with her in an official manner presented itself, I jumped at it, no matter how brief. After signing many autographs and posing for pictures with fans after walking out to the Target Center floor with the help of crutches, Augustus and I caught up.

SLAM: So, of course, my first question is how are you feeling?
Seimone Augustus: If you would have asked two weeks ago, it would have been a worse answer. I’m actually doing good. I’m trying to get the knee moving and getting the leg moving, getting on the bike, getting in the pool, so I’m happy.

SLAM: I’m sure I know the answer to this, but how difficult is it for you to just sit and watch your team play?
SA: It’s very hard, but I think they’ve been doing a great job. The only thing that I was kind of upset with them was the Seattle game in Seattle. We had them on the ropes and we could have won the game, but they came back because they’re a great team. All in all, I’m happy with the girls. Nicky (Anosike) and Charde (Houston) and

their All-Star appearances were great. We’re making history here.

SLAM: I only sit about five feet away from you behind the Lynx bench and love watching you during the games. You’re always in your teammates ears. What are you saying to them?
SA: Yeah. I talk to them at halftime too because I know they don’t hear anything I’m saying during the games. At halftime, if I see something and it’s something I think they can adjust to or something I need to communicate to them, I’ll tell them. They already have it figured out and everything is going good, so I don’t try to fix something that’s not broken.

SLAM: With how the Lynx are playing without you, it has to excite you to think of what you guys can do next season with you back in the lineup, right?
SA: “I mean, it’s been a long time coming. Since I’ve been here people have been saying, ‘Oh, Mone needs some help.’ Now it’s evident that I finally have the help. I don’t have to worry about having the pressure on my back when I return. That’s a wonderful thing to know that I don’t have to carry all the load every minute of every game. It’s great to see us evolving into a team that’s going to be a contender for a championship.”