One of Minnesota’s best athletes is back in action after a year on the sidelines. Seimone Augustus may not be as rich or famous as Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau or Adrian Peterson, but relative to her peers she’s ranks just as high or higher than her male counterparts.

Augustus, whose 21.1 per game scoring average is tops in WNBA history, missed 37 games over the past two seasons with a torn ACL and surgery to remove benign fibroid tumors. Without their superstar and go-to scorer, the Lynx went a dreadful 12-25.

I caught up with the 26-year-old All Star on Thursday as she geared up for her first home game since June 16, 2009.

DZ: Right now you are backing action, which – obviously – is a good thing. How are you feeling?

AUGUSTUS: As good as I can feel right now. I am just excited to be back on the court playing with my teammates and trying to get some victories.

DZ: You’ve been through a lot in the last year, what was the toughest point for you?

AUGUSTUS: Just not being able to play last year and seeing the team fight as hard as they did and compete like they did to get that last playoff spot (and not get it). Then, coming into this year, I was prepared for May 15 and my return got pushed back a little bit. It was kind of discouraging, I wanted to be back.

Q: What are your thoughts and emotions returning home in front of your fans for the first time (in over a year)?

AUGUSTUS: I am excited; I wished I could have started with my first game here instead of in Phoenix, but I am just ready to feed off their energy, come out and get a win against Tulsa and just have fun tomorrow.

DZ: Is there anything you can learn, any new perspective you’ve gained having to watch the team and dealing with not playing?

AUGUSTUS: Yeah, definitely. I see what the coaches see now. When they tell us stuff in the huddle, sometimes we don’t see it on the court. So now we can kind of lock in on what they are trying to say and try to focus on their focal points.

DZ: Obviously the team isn’t where you want to be in the standings right now, do you feel the pressure to come back and try to do too much – be the savior?

AUGUSTUS: No, I am just trying to fit in. I don’t think I did too much in the Phoenix game, just kind of went with the flow of the game. Same with the LA game, I just went with the flow of the game. It’s a matter of getting our chemistry down…now that I am back…so we can push forward?

DZ: Where would you say your game is at right now?

AUGUSTUS: It’s not where I want it to be. Definitely, I would like to be more aggressive, attacking the basket. I have been settling a lot for jumpers and 3-point shots. That will come with the burst of speed getting my explosion back - things like that. I have to get back to the free throw line. I don’t think I’ve shot one free throw since I’ve been back. I definitely need to change that.

DZ: How long do you think it will take before you are back to 100% - the Seimone we’ve seen before?

AUGUSTUS: I hope tomorrow (laughs). I hope tomorrow, but by midseason I expect to be back to my old self again.

DZ: One last thing, you cut off your hair (dreadlocks), it’s getting a little longer now; was that for a fresh start after the injury?

AUGUSTUS: There was a lot of bad karma going on. My dad fell with multiple sclerosis – he had his illness. I had the ACL and the fibroid so I needed to refresh myself so my hair is what had to go.

See more of David Zingler’s interviews with Lynx players and coaches:

May 23: Hamchétou Maïga-Ba
May 15: Cheryl Reeve
April 29: Monica Wright