What Kim Mulkey recalls about recruiting Seimone Augustus as LSU great's statue unveiling approaches

BATON ROUGE – Kim Mulkey and Seimone Augustus' paths have crossed a number of times over the years.

They're far more in sync now, with Augustus an LSU alum and Mulkey the Tigers women's basketball coach. Their relationship has hit a fever pitch lately, as Mulkey was an avid, vocal supporter of what's now a reality: Augustus getting her very own statue on campus, which will be revealed Sunday alongside LSU greats Shaquille O'Neal and Bob Pettit outside the basketball practice facility.

But Mulkey wishes their paths would've intertwined more two decades ago. Then an assistant coach at her alma mater Louisiana Tech, Mulkey and Tech's coaching staff recruited Augustus, the top-rated girls' high school prospect in the country for her class in 2002.

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"I didn't have the pleasure of coaching her. My teams played against her," Mulkey said. "My first memory of Seimone Augustus was when she was at Capitol High School and we tried to recruit her when I was at Louisiana Tech. Meeting her and her family when they came to Louisiana Tech.

"Very quiet, unassuming, talent. Very humble, soft-spoken."

A two-time All-American and National Player of the Year while at LSU, Augustus helped guide the Tigers to three consecutive Final Fours, one of those came in 2005, which created the matchup between LSU and Mulkey's Baylor team.

"How in the world do I guard her?" Mulkey remembers asking herself about Augustus.

LSU jumped out to an early 15-point lead. Not a zone defense coach, Mulkey had Baylor sink into a 3-2 zone and the switch paid off as the Bears rallied to knock off the Tigers and then beat Michigan State for Mulkey's first national championship as a coach.

Augustus scored 22 points in the loss.

"Playing against her, I have memories of her dominant team here. Her dominance as a player here. Lastly was how in the world do I guard her? That's when we went to that 3-2 (zone) in the national semifinals," Mulkey said. "We were down 15 at the half."

As the unveiling of Augustus' statue approaches, Mulkey believes few are more deserving of the honor.

"Such a talent and so deserving of the statue. She stayed at home, she's a Baton Rouge girl. She accomplished so much in her career at LSU and then what she went on to do in the pros and the Olympics," said Mulkey, a Tickfaw, Louisiana, native. "She's never forgotten where she comes from, her parents come to our games, (current LSU assistant coach) Bob Starkey got to coach her and be here during that era when women's basketball was so good and dominant.

"I'm happy for her, for our program, for LSU and for Louisiana."

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Kim Mulkey recruited LSU women's basketball great Seimone Augustus