Bouncing Back

Faith can move mountains. Nebraska point guard Kevin Augustine is certain of that.

What it does for bruised ribs, well, that remains to be seen. But at this point, the former Mater Dei High and USC guard has to believe.

Augustine didn’t sit out 1 1/2 years, working, waiting, self-evaluating, to let a few bruised bones slow him down.

Or that groin injury. Or that bulging disc in his back. Or that broken toe.

That’s not a breakdown of career injuries. That’s just what has happened to Augustine since he ended his exile at Fullerton College and agreed to attend point-guard starved Nebraska last May.

“This year has been tough,” Augustine said. “It’s been a nightmare with the injuries. I’ve always worked extremely hard. Sometimes you have bad luck. This is a prime example of it. During tough times, I can always see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Fill in your own punch line there. Augustine has been run over by more than a few bad jokes already. He can take it. His view is he was meant to play major college basketball.

“Kevin has a strong faith in God,” Nebraska Coach Barry Collier said. “For a while, I think he was wondering about what message he was hearing. Was he not supposed to play basketball any more? There was a lot of discouragement along with physical pain. He decided it was simply a challenge.”

Call it a leap of faith . . . or rather, an act of faith. Why risk the sprained ankle?

Persevering Player

The walls of Augustine’s eclectic apartment in Lincoln, Neb., are devoid of basketball photos or posters. On one wall is a copy of a Vincent van Gogh painting. On another, African masks. Careful, don’t bump into the aquarium.

A first glance would also notice candles flickering. It could also make you wonder, where’s the burning desire? Shouldn’t there be something, maybe a bronzed sneaker from 1995, when he helped Mater Dei win the State Division I title? Doesn’t he care about basketball?

That impression, however, would be wrong.

“I knew my time was coming,” Augustine said. “While I was at Fullerton College, I kept working hard because I knew I would get another chance. I don’t go out much here. This is like a business trip.”

Augustine doesn’t need to use words to show he’s all business. Actions will suffice.

The Cornhuskers had a one-point lead Dec. 30 against Murray State. The Racers’ Isaac Spencer, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward, came lumbering down the lane.

The only thing between Spencer and a dunk was Augustine, generously listed at 6-0, 185.

“I couldn’t just let him have the dunk,” Augustine said. “I took him on and fouled him.”

The result? Two free throws for Spencer and two bruised ribs for Augustine. The Huskers lost the game and their point guard for the next game.

This is how things have gone for Augustine since he committed to Nebraska.

Playing in a summer league game in July, Augustine was driving to the basket when a player stepped in front of him to take a charge. Who draws an offensive foul in a summer-league game? Augustine suffered a broken toe.

By the time that healed, he was suffering back pain, which turned out to be a bulging disc. This time, he missed some practice time. He returned from that only to pull his groin, which forced him to miss five of the Cornhuskers’ first six games.

“Every time, it’s been some fluky thing,” Augustine said.

The rib injury, though, was the worst. The net loss to the team doesn’t show up in the numbers. Augustine is averaging six points and two rebounds. He has 31 assists and 31 turnovers. He is shooting 42% from the field and a woeful 40% from the free-throw line.

There are numbers that matter more. The Cornhuskers are 2-4 when Augustine hasn’t played. They are 6-3 with him in their lineup, including a three-game run to win the San Juan Shootout.

“The biggest thing Kevin does is help us defensively,” Collier said. “He stays in front of the other team’s point guard. On offense, he’s a guy who makes his teammates better off penetration and passing off.”

Augustine’s offensive skills show up periodically as well. He scored 13 points against Kent State, including the game-winning jumper with 24 seconds left in a 69-68 win that put the Cornhuskers in the Shootout final. He had eight points and five assists against Southern Methodist in the title game.

“His ability to bounce back and come out with a positive attitude helps our team,” Collier said. “I’m not sure many of us would have been able to stay focused and positive. He’s done that.”

Second Chances

Augustine already was damaged goods when Collier first heard about him last spring from a Southern California traveling team coach. Augustine was still recuperating from a hernia operation, but Collier needed a point guard.

“We’re talking a 48-hour romance between the time we found out about him,” Collier said. “It was the last day in April that we could go visit recruits. I didn’t know what we were going to see because he’d had hernia surgery six weeks earlier.”

Augustine was considered one of the top point guards in the nation when he graduated from Mater Dei in 1997. He signed with USC and started 10 of 26 games the following season.

“We thought he would be the guard of the future for us,” USC Coach Henry Bibby said.

That future never came. Augustine was slowed by a shoulder injury that required surgery after his freshman season. He felt burned out and walked away from the team before his sophomore season. He returned to find his job taken by Brandon Granville.

Augustine quit the team after playing seven games.

“There’s a lot of pressure on young men, from their peers and family, to perform,” Bibby said. “Sometimes kids need to step away.”

Augustine didn’t wander too far. He enrolled at Fullerton College. Two months later, he began grueling workouts at the Brea Community Center.

“God has a plan for me,” Augustine said. “When I left USC, it was like the weight of the world was off my shoulders. I realized that I had made the decision to go there in haste. I was scared to go too far from home. I knew I could get back to college. I used that for motivation.”