LSU women's basketball head coach Kim Mulkey welcomed Seimone Augustus to her staff for next season, as the Tigers continued to restructure their operations following a run to the Elite Eight.
Last month, LSU announced the departure of Mulkey's longest-tenured assistant, Johnny Derrick . He'd worked alongside her for 24 years and never missed a game on the sideline in Baton Rouge.
The program's hiring of Augustus represents an exciting development for LSU fans, who watched the former guard light up scoreboards from 2002-06. Augustus scored 22.7 points per game in her final year with the Tigers. She went No. 1 overall in the 2006 WNBA Draft to the Minnesota Lynx.
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"It is an exciting day for the LSU women's basketball program to bring Seimone Augustus back to join our staff," Mulkey wrote in a statement. "As a player at LSU, Seimone helped transform the program as the best player in the nation. She brought LSU to national prominence. She will be a tremendous member on our staff as someone with great experience who has excelled at every level of the game from high school in Baton Rouge to college to the WNBA to the Olympics.
"Her expertise in the game will benefit our team and allow our players the opportunity to learn from a Hall of Famer who has exhibited great class throughout her entire career.
"Competing against Seimone and watching her play professionally and internationally I was always impressed with her leadership and basketball IQ. Those are the intangibles I'm excited about her bringing to our program. She has experiences at the highest level of success that will allow her to be an outstanding mentor to our student-athletes."
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Meanwhile, Augustus wrote in a note to LSU fans that life had guided her back to where she belonged. She noted Mulkey's reputation as one of the most effective coaches of all time in her explanation for why it was time to come back to the school she attended as a student-athlete.
"Life always guides you to where you belong," she said. "Thus my path has led me home. Gracing me with an opportunity to further my coaching career within a program that I hold dearly. They say experience is the greatest teacher, I am truly excited about the knowledge and wisdom I will gain working alongside of legendary coach Mulkey and reconnecting with my former coach, Bob Starkey.
"A fighting Tiger once more, I look forward to pouring into this generation of Lady Tigers. Once a Tiger, always a Tiger. A new chapter begins... See you at the PMAC."
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Despite the loss of Angel Reese to the WNBA and Hailey Van Lith through the transfer portal, Augustus joins LSU at a time it still expects to contend for national glory. The Tigers bring back battle-tested stars such as Mikaylah Williams and Flau'jae Johnson .
They'll participate in one of the most competitive conferences in the nation. South Carolina remains an SEC power, while Ole Miss and Tennessee are perennial candidates to make the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, newcomers Texas and Oklahoma could make noise with loaded rosters, while Kentucky carries high hopes after hiring Kenny Brooks away from Virginia Tech.
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