Seimone: "Motivated to come back as a more complete player"

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An outstanding article and update on Seimone from Slam Magazine written by Ben York:

There’s an age old saying that the night is darkest just before the dawn. For Seimone Augustus, the dawn is finally coming.

Just 6 games into the 2009 WNBA season, the Minnesota Lynx were flying high under new head coach Jennifer Gillom, rivaling the Phoenix Mercury in terms of excitement and scoring. Seimone Augustus, Minnesota’s perennial All-Star and one of the best players in the game, was third in the league in scoring, averaging 21 points per game and shooting 57% from the floor. She even won Western Conference Player of the Week honors for leading the Lynx to their strong start. Legitimate buzz surrounded the young, exuberant, and up-tempo team and optimism began to consume Lynx fans in Minnesota and across the country.

Seimone isn’t the type of player to be down for long. Sitting out the entire year has provided a motivation for Augustus to come back with a vengeance. Augustus made the decision to stay in Minnesota during the off-season to focus 100% on the rehabilitation of her knee. Simply put, Seimone is poised to come back stronger than ever. “I’m motivated to come back as a more complete player,” Augustus said. “This experience has helped me understand I need to go hard at all times; in practice go hard, shoot-arounds go hard, because you never know when it can change.”

Another major change for Seimone was the cutting of her trademark dreadlocks. Though, for Seimone, the change in appearance represented a new direction in life rather than just another haircut. “It was a life changing year for me and my family,” Augustus said. “It was just time to cut it off, start fresh. My dad was having a tough time with MS [Multiple Sclerosis] and it was a tough battle for my family and I. Tearing the ACL was life changing and it was just time for a new beginning.”

Seimone’s rehab couldn’t be going better, and it’s easy to sense the focus and determination that Seimone has to return to her old form. There is an indelible feeling of perseverance that exudes from Augustus when she talks about coming back in 2010. She’s in the gym on a daily basis working to not only improve physically, but mentally, as well. Lynx fans will be happy to know that the wait to see Seimone back on the basketball court isn’t much longer. “I can’t complain, I feel good,” Seimone said with a smile. “I’m doing more basketball related things like running, jumping, and weights and in January will return to full contact. I should be 100% in January and could even start playing basketball in December.”

Read the entire article: http://bit.ly/6aMPxN

Posted by Bill Martin