Editor’s note: This is the ninth story in a series about the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s 2024 inductees. Natchitoches will host the induction ceremonies from June 20 to 22.

Seimone Augustus’ life altered after a single automobile ride home from Greenville Elementary.

Augustus recalls “having a moment” when her team lost an after-school basketball game. She wasn’t sure how to handle it.

“We were walking to the car when my father remarked, ‘They beat you, and that’s the end of it. “You must learn to be a good loser before you can be a great winner.”

Then Seymore Augustus inquired, “What do you want to do?” Do you only want to be good? Or do you aspire to be great?”

They waited in the car for a few minutes before making the short drive home.

“I got out of the car and said, ‘I want to be great.'” “Then I stormed into the house,” Augustus explained. “And my dad said, ‘We’ve got work to do.’ And that was it.”

Two high school state championships at Capitol, three Final Four appearances at LSU, three Olympic gold medals, and four WNBA titles remained years away. However, Augustus, a two-time national player of the year at LSU, realized his basketball aspirations and the effort required to achieve them around the age of eight.

Augustus is reminiscing on her journey after being inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame all within six months.

Augustus’ induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame on June 22 is also a full circle event for him, as he recently joined the LSU women’s basketball coaching staff as an assistant.

“It’s a celebration of me, but this is also a celebration that gives me a chance to express gratitude to the people who were significant in helping me get to where I am today,” said Augustus. “The opportunities I had and people who helped make it possible.”

By the time Augustus entered Capitol High School, she had dunked in a middle school game and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated for Women, with the title, “Is she the next Michael Jordan?”

Augustus averaged 24.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in high school, helping her squad to a 138-7 record, including a 52-game winning streak.

Previously, there were lawn chairs, bowling gloves, and a gravel road that made dribbling difficult.

“We laugh about it … the bowling gloves and the glasses that prevent you from looking down,” added Augustus. “Tying one arm behind my back, forcing me to use the other hand. And setting up lawn chairs in the yard.”

For games, father and daughter rode bikes or walked to gyms and/or street basketball courts in Baton Rouge’s inner city.

“I attribute a lot of who I am and what I am to who I played against growing up here in Baton Rouge,” Augustus stated. “I usually remark that I never went anywhere without playing a game. I wasn’t on a trip ball team. We did not have the finances.

“My reputation back then was ‘I played against that girl.'” It didn’t matter. Whether elderly, young, middle-aged, male or female… I’d play you. This is how you become a street legend. People would say, ‘Oh, I’ve seen that girl working hard. “And her father was right there with her.”

Augustus’ AAU basketball experience was limited. Her father organized a squad to compete in a national competition in Cocoa Beach, Florida, one summer. Her play earned her an invitation to the Blue Star Elite camp in Terre Haute, Indiana. Future WNBA stars Diana Taurasi, Nicole Powell, and Swin Cash were present.

“I had no idea about the (player) rating system or who any of these players were. That was amazing for me; I had no worry or anxiety,” Augustus stated. “I used to wear pigtails and was nicknamed “puppy.”

“They would say, ‘You got game, but you’re still a puppy.'” You can’t go on the porch with the larger dogs just yet.”

Augustus quickly became well-known. Fans waited in line for hours to get into Capitol Games. College coaches that visited Baton Rouge included the late Pat Summitt of Tennessee and Geno Auriemma of Connecticut.

The LHSAA girls basketball tournament achieved attendance records three of the four years Augustus competed, including a night in 2002 when the University Center in Hammond was sold out, which did not happen again until the LSU women faced Southeastern Louisiana in December.