James Augustine

Augustine was born in Midlothian, Illinois, but eventually moved to Mokena, Illinois, where he attended Lincoln-Way Central High School in New Lenox, Illinois where he graduated in 2002. While at Lincoln-Way, Augustine played both football and basketball.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
James Augustine PF / C	Midlothian, IL	Lincoln-Way Central (Illinois)	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Aug 10, 2001
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 14 (PF)   Rivals: 11 (C)
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2002 Illinois Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2015-01-20. "2002 Illinois Basketball Commitment List". Scout.com. Retrieved 2015-01-20. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2015-01-20. "2002 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2015-01-20.

Augustine played for the University of Illinois men's basketball team from 2002 to 2006. As a freshman, Augustine was a starter for a team that finished second in the Big Ten. Playing both the power forward and center positions, his career with the Illini included many team records, a trip to the national championship game, and several awards including the Big Ten tournament Most Outstanding Player for his play in the 2005 Big Ten men's basketball tournament. Throughout his college career, Augustine was often complimented by announcers for his athleticism for a big man. Many attributed this ability to the fact that Augustine played Quarterback for his high school football team. Augustine is the first player in school history and just the 12th player in Big Ten history with 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. Augustine finished his college career with 1,383 points and 1,023 rebounds. He is also the school-record holder for career field goal percentage at 61.7 percent (534–865), which also ranks fifth in Big Ten history. Augustine Played in 137 games, starting 134 of them during his college career, the second most games played in school history (tied with Dee Brown).

Augustine was selected with the 41st pick by the Orlando Magic in the 2006 NBA draft. In August 2008, after playing two seasons in the NBA and its affiliate Development League, Augustine signed with Gran Canaria of the Spanish league.[1]

On July 30, 2010, he signed a one-year contract with Power Electronics Valencia.[2]

In August 2011 he signed with UCAM Murcia.[3]

In May 2012, he signed a contract with the Russian team Khimki.[4]

On July 4, 2016, Augustine signed with CSKA Moscow.[4] On July 8, 2017, CSKA announced the termination of their contract with Augustine.[5]

On August 3, 2017, Augustine signed with Spanish club Unicaja for the 2017–18 season.[6] After season he was released from the club.

On 20 October 2019, at age 35, Augustine announced that he would retire from professional sport. “In summer I thought it was too much. Now I am enjoying life after active sport. I had a very long career," he said.

Augustine has expressed a desire to be a coach in the future.

Augustine holds the school record for career rebounds with 1,023.[7] He became the first Fighting Illini player and the 12th player in Big Ten Conference history to accumulate 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.[7] This feat was last accomplished Indiana's by Alan Henderson, who played from 1992 to 1995. Augustine holds the school record for career field goal percentage at 61.7[7] and shares the school award for career victories with Dee Brown, with 114 wins.[7]

Augustine was also named Most Outstanding Player in the 2005 Big Ten tournament.[7]

Before playing in a regular-season game with the Magic, Augustine was assigned to an affiliate NBA Development League team, the Anaheim Arsenal, in January 2007,[8] appearing in 8 games and averaging 10 points and eight rebounds. He recorded 4 double-doubles in his 8 games. Augustine made his first appearance in a regular-season game on February 2, 2007, against the New Jersey Nets, recording two points, two assists, and three rebounds in four minutes of playing time.

His uncle, Jerry Augustine, played professional baseball for the MLB's Milwaukee Brewers from 1975 to 1984 and was the head baseball coach at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee[7] for the 1995–2006 seasons. Augustine is also the cousin of former NFL safety Nick Sorensen.[7]

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
• James Augustine at euroleague.net
• James Augustine at fightingIllini.com
• Draft Profile at NBA.com