Augustine’s Departure Surprises Bibby

USC point guard Kevin Augustine has quit the team and will leave school after completing final exams this week.

Expected to start this season, Augustine slipped down the depth chart after taking leave for personal reasons. Since returning, the 6-foot sophomore has played behind freshman Brandon Granville.

“It’s nothing against my teammates and my coaches, I just realized I don’t fit in at USC,” Augustine said. “Maybe I’ll fit in somewhere else a little better.”

Coach Henry Bibby, out of town on a recruiting trip, had not spoken with Augustine as of Tuesday night.

“I’m very surprised because Kevin is a good kid,” Bibby said. “He was a guy I was depending on this year.”

Another USC guard, junior college transfer Quincy Wilder, also considered quitting over a lack of playing time.

“His playing time should increase now,” Bibby said. “When Kevin was out, Quincy played the point guard and did a pretty nice job. He knows my system, so hopefully we can go on with no problem.”

Augustine came to USC from Santa Ana Mater Dei High and started 10 games as a freshman, averaging six points and four assists. His sophomore season started badly when he took leave complaining of exhaustion.

“I told him not to go back,” Lucky Augustine, his father, said. “Kevin went back because he didn’t want to let Coach Bibby down.”

After a short suspension, Augustine played 17 minutes against St. Bonaventure, then 21 minutes against Loyola Marymount. But Granville remained the starter and Augustine played only eight minutes against Kansas last Saturday, finishing with two assists and three turnovers.

“I kind of dug myself a hole,” he said. “I understood what was going on.”

Augustine plans to enroll in junior college this spring, then transfer to a four-year school next fall.

“Duke, Kansas, Stanford . . . these are all schools that offered me scholarships in high school,” he said. “Hopefully, those opportunities still exist.”