James Augustine
James Augustine is a retired American professional basketball player who played as a forward. During the career he played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini before being drafted 41st overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. Later he relocated in Europe and concluded his playing career for Malaga. Augustine has played over 400 official games in different clubs. A tall, imposing sportsman, he was considered to be one of the best USA talents.
Early life
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.College career
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. 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, which also ranks fifth in Big Ten history. Augustine Played in 137 games during his college career, the second most in school history.Professional career
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.On July 30, 2010 he signed a one-year contract with Power Electronics Valencia.
In August 2011 he signed with UCAM Murcia.
In May 2012, he signed a contract with the Russian team Khimki.
On July 4, 2016, Augustine signed with CSKA Moscow. On July 8, 2017, CSKA announced the termination of their contract with Augustine.
On August 3, 2017, Augustine signed with Spanish club Unicaja for the 2017–18 season. After season he was released from the club.
Retirement
On 20 October 2019, Augustine decided, that he would retire from professional sport, at age 35.“In summer I thought it was too much. Now I am enjoying life after active sport. I had a very long career.”, as he mentioned. He also said, that he wants to be a coach in the future.
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
Playoffs
EuroLeague
Domestic leagues
| Season | Team | League | ||||||||||
| 2006–07 | Anaheim Arsenal | D-League | 8 | 27.4 | .679 | -- | .818 | 8.9 | .9 | 1.0 | .8 | 10.1 |
| 2008–09 | Gran Canaria | Liga ACB | 35 | 24.1 | .568 | .200 | .667 | 6.1 | .9 | .9 | .8 | 7.7 |
| 2009–10 | Gran Canaria | Liga ACB | 36 | 24.7 | .506 | .167 | .839 | 7.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .4 | 8.6 |
| 2010–11 | Power Electronics Valencia | Liga ACB | 17 | 15.8 | .448 | .000 | 1.000 | 4.2 | .5 | .4 | .2 | 4.2 |
| 2011–12 | UCAM Murcia | Liga ACB | 34 | 27.0 | .614 | .500 | .711 | 8.3 | 1.2 | 1.1 | .9 | 12.7 |
| 2012–13 | Khimki | Russian PBL | 12 | 19.8 | .563 | -- | .765 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .3 | 7.1 |
| 2012–13 | Khimki | VTB United League | 25 | 19.6 | .614 | .000 | .571 | 5.1 | 1.3 | .6 | .6 | 6.6 |
| 2013–14 | Khimki | VTB United League | 19 | 24.8 | .710 | .500 | .741 | 6.8 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 12.7 |
| 2014–15 | Khimki | VTB United League | 27 | 20.9 | .605 | .167 | .742 | 5.7 | 1.4 | .9 | .7 | 9.0 |
Records and awards
Augustine holds the school record for career rebounds with 1,023. 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. 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 and shares the school award for career victories with Dee Brown, with 114 wins.Augustine was also named Most Outstanding Player in the 2005 Big Ten Tournament.
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, 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.