KU News of the day - Page 2

royr17 · 01-13-2005, 01:18 PM

http://www.kusports.com/news/mens_ba...l/story/112838

Big Dub keys big 'W'
Simien returns from injury, sparks Jayhawks past ISU

By Gary Bedore, Assistant Sports Editor

Thursday, January 13, 2005

Ames, Iowa — Wayne Simien desperately wanted to play.

But he, his coach, his teammates -- heck, even his parents -- didn't know if Simien, Kansas University's senior All-America candidate, would be able to answer the bell for the first time in five games for Wednesday's Kansas-Iowa State Big 12 Conference battle at Hilton Coliseum.

"It all came down to the refs' decision, to see if they approved the cast I was in," said Simien.

A soft cast, tape and gray Nike glove on Simien's surgically repaired left thumb received the officials' seal of approval during warmups just minutes before tipoff.

"It definitely was a relief. It definitely was good to be back. I didn't know I'd play 37 minutes," gasped the 6-foot-9, 255-pound power forward, who collected 13 points and nine rebounds in the Jayhawks' 71-66 victory before 13,009 fans.

Simien may have shown a few signs of rust the first half in scoring four points with four boards in 18 minutes, helping the Jayhawks take a slim 38-35 lead at the break.

He came up big the second half, however, when KU (12-0 overall, 2-0 Big 12) needed it the most against the Cyclones (8-5, 0-2), who have lost just two of their last 27 games at Hilton.

Simien hit a three-pointer and turn-around jumper to open the second-half scoring. The 10-foot jumper came right after his first try was swatted by Jared Homan.

Kansas University All-America candidate Wayne Simien, right, battles for a rebound with Iowa State's Jared Homan late in the Jayhawks' 71-66 victory. In his first game back after having surgery on his left thumb, Simien collected 13 points and nine rebounds as the Jayhawks held off the Cyclones on Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

Simien hit another turn-around jumper to bust a 54-all tie with 6:39 left, his bucket following a pair of Keith Langford free throws that answered a 10-0 Iowa State run that had given the Cyclones a 54-52 lead.

The Jayhawks, who especially needed Simien with Christian Moody sidelined with an ankle sprain, never trailed again.

"It's a bit bulky," Simien said of the cast on his thumb that he said wasn't the cause of his 2-of-6 free-throw shooting. "Shooting-wise, it didn't bother me. I pulled down some boards that I usually grab left-handed. Other than that, it didn't bother me at all."

Simien had his thumb whacked more than once.

"No pain at all," said the player who was out of action 23 days after undergoing surgery on Dec. 20.

The original prognosis called for him to be out four to six weeks.

"I took a few shots on it," Simien said. "I took a few shots on it in practice before the game to make sure it was OK. It may have startled me, but no pain, no worries."

All KU backers had fewer worries with Simien back on board helping make up for the absence of Moody, who is expected to be in the lineup Saturday at Colorado.

"It would have been very difficult for us to win without him," coach Bill Self said, referring to Moody's absence. "I'm sure it had something to do with Wayne being adamant about playing."

Simien said that, though the Jayhawks missed Moody, that's not why Simien suited up.

"I just wanted to try to focus on playing all week," Simien said. "Christian can do some good things for us, definitely, but that had no effect at all."

The Jayhawks learned Simien would be playing in the locker room before the game. Self had talked to the doctors and Simien's parents, receiving the go-ahead from those important parties. The refs got the last word.

"I knew he wanted to play," said point guard Aaron Miles, who had eight points and five assists on a night Langford led the way with 18 points and helped hold Curtis Stinson to 18 on 6-of-20 shooting.

"When we heard, everybody was like, ‘Welcome back, Dub.' We needed him back."

Simien's dad, Wayne, Sr., who was sitting in the stands and had agreed with doctors' prognosis that the player was healthy enough to play, nonetheless was thrilled when his son took the floor for the opening tip.

"We had no idea he'd play. He didn't tell us for sure," Wayne Sr. said. "We knew it'd be a game-time decision. We never thought he'd play 37 minutes. It'd been wearing on him. He wanted to get out there to help the team win."

All four seniors, plus freshman Alex Galindo, played key roles down the stretch Wednesday.

How did Simien make it back in the lineup so soon?

"You know, I'm sure there was some divine intervention. He healed quicker than people thought. We've got to thank the man upstairs," Simien Sr. said.

And Simien himself deserves credit, too. He was hardly winded playing all but three minutes.

"I did a lot of conditioning work at practice, even though I couldn't play," Simien said. "It was important to still get a lot of work in."

KU will travel to Colorado on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tipoff.

OldTownChief · 01-13-2005, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phobia

Nope - now he knows. There will only be 1 KU thread per day from royr17 in the future.

THANK YOU!!! I love KU but that was freaking ridiculous.

**Bearcat** · 01-13-2005, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by royr17

Ok anybody this is gettin mad at seeing the Jayhawks thread, I didtn think you would get mad I was just posting the stuff about the Jayhawks on here for our fella Jayhawk fans.

So sorry if i made all you guys mad about all the Jayhawk news ...

Keep doing it.... just keep everything about a specific game on one thread.

We don't want to upset people by making them go to the second page to post what they had for dinner last night

Swanman · 01-13-2005, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bearcat

We don't want to upset people by making them go to the second page to post what they had for dinner last night

Don't forget about the thread noting when they shat their dinner.

OldTownChief · 01-13-2005, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swanman

Don't forget about the thread noting when they shat their dinner.

I'm sure the same complaints would arise if there were 8 threads in a row about "shat"

tk13 · 01-13-2005, 03:14 PM

Wait until the Royals win their first spring intersquad game. 70 threads. Front page. At least. Guaranteed.

**Saulbadguy** · 01-13-2005, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROYC75

The Tiggers and Mildcats can't find enough material to post about !

Oh...we (

) have plenty of material...its just all BAD. We keep finding ways to lose, although we've only lost 2 in a row. It seems like 10 though

**Saulbadguy** · 01-13-2005, 04:54 PM

Oh..and I heartily agree. Keep all related content, be it KU, K-State, or MU, in ONE thread, especially on the same day, and about one game.

royr..I see you setting yourself up for a big flamefest once KU loses. They won't win em all.

Eleazar · 01-13-2005, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phobia

Nope - now he knows. There will only be 1 KU thread per day from royr17 in the future.

**Bearcat** · 01-13-2005, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

royr..I see you setting yourself up for a big flamefest once KU loses. They won't win em all.

Eh... it's not like he's talking smack... just posting articles.

It'll be funny when they lose... all the MUrons will come out of the woodwork with their overrated talk, because we all know a top 5 team should go undefeated

Eleazar · 01-13-2005, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Oh..and I heartily agree. Keep all related content, be it KU, K-State, or MU, in ONE thread, especially on the same day, and about one game.

Yeah, I mean, I participate in the KU threads too. But do we really need a new thread for every article in every newspaper in the midwest? Does there need to be a seperate thread detailing who did and did not watch the game and one each for the updated status of Moody's ankle and Langford's head and Simien's left ballhairs, or if Bill Self takes a dump and they're sinkers instead of floaters? Just a few days ago there were 8+ of them on the front page

Quote:

royr..I see you setting yourself up for a big flamefest once KU loses. They won't win em all.

When that happens I ought to find every article about the game in every publication on the entire earth and create a new thread for each of them, but I won't...

Eleazar · 01-13-2005, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bearcat

It'll be funny when they lose... all the MUrons will come out of the woodwork with their overrated talk, because we all know a top 5 team should go undefeated

I am really not worried about what you guys are doing. I could care less.

Besides, does it ever matter what KU has lining up? The fans will almost always say they are underrated and/or should be #1 or bound for the final four anyway. Then when the tournament loss brings them back down to earth it's reduced to "well, at least we are still better than MU".

Congrats in advance. At the end of the year, yes, your program will still be better than a mediocre one run by the poorest excuse for a basketball coach I've ever seen working for an AD who doesn't have enough balls to fire the cleaning lady. Yeah, it's going to be a while before we will contend again because Snyder will have to go first. But continue to hang your hat on being better than us. To think, these are the fans that accuse MU fans of judging themselves only by the other.

Go ahead, enjoy the ride for now. I'll see you guys back down here in a couple of months.

**Skip Towne** · 01-13-2005, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

Yeah, I mean, I participate in the KU threads too. But do we really need a new thread for every article in every newspaper in the midwest? Does there need to be a seperate thread detailing who did and did not watch the game and one each for the updated status of Moody's ankle and Langford's head and Simien's left ballhairs, or if Bill Self takes a dump and they're sinkers instead of floaters? Just a few days ago there were 8+ of them on the front page

When that happens I ought to find every article about the game in every publication on the entire earth and create a new thread for each of them, but I won't...

If you do, I'll get someone to neg rep you.

Eleazar · 01-13-2005, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skip Towne

If you do, I'll get someone to neg rep you.

Don't make me create a thread for you to take your beating in!

Alec R · 01-13-2005, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCTitus

I watched both KU/ISU and the NC/GT game last night and Im not sure why NC is ranked below Kansas at this point. They look simply unstoppable.

Not only have they taken to Roy's run and gun but even when they get put in half court situations, they made mince meat of Georgia Tech who basically stifled KU for an entire half.

Sorry to say, I wouldnt be suprised to see NC go all the way this year.

Id agree with that except the comparison between the games isnt fair. They had their full healthy starting lineup while we were desperately missing Simien in that game. Quite frankly Im surprised we won that and the Kentucky game without him.

Which leads me to believe the hi-low offense and incredible defense KU is playing this year would give them a better than good shot at beating UNC.

UNC is a fine team, probably the best starting five in the nation but Im skeptical on their depth. I argued with a guy from New York about this and he claims their depth is the best in the nation but yet without one man, their best man, they couldnt beat Santa Clara...an unranked team. So what if it was the season opener, if they got the best depth in the nation they should have manhandled SC but they didnt. Meanwhile, KU knocked off two top 10 (at the time) teams without their best man.

HC_Chief · 01-13-2005, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCTitus

I watched both KU/ISU and the NC/GT game last night and Im not sure why NC is ranked below Kansas at this point. They look simply unstoppable.

Not only have they taken to Roy's run and gun but even when they get put in half court situations, they made mince meat of Georgia Tech who basically stifled KU for an entire half.

Sorry to say, I wouldnt be suprised to see NC go all the way this year.

Funny, I was just talking about this today:
KU fans have seen that team before. Absolutely shreds in the regular season, only to lose a heartbreaker in the tourney. Roy's run & gun is incredibly entertaining and looks frigging unstopable, but it CAN be stopped. All you have to do is play tough defense, attack the passing lanes, and attack the weak-side help defense. Against Roy's team, make the extra pass - someone will move to double-team... then kick back out for the uncontested shot. I've seen it; it works. MacNamara at Syracuse tore us up with it... Jake Sullivan at ISU used to do the same.

01-13-2005, 01:18 PM
royr17 MVP Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Lovin my kids Casino cash: $1918676	Simien returns from injury, sparks Jayhawks past ISU http://www.kusports.com/news/mens_ba...l/story/112838 Big Dub keys big 'W' Simien returns from injury, sparks Jayhawks past ISU By Gary Bedore, Assistant Sports Editor Thursday, January 13, 2005 Ames, Iowa — Wayne Simien desperately wanted to play. But he, his coach, his teammates -- heck, even his parents -- didn't know if Simien, Kansas University's senior All-America candidate, would be able to answer the bell for the first time in five games for Wednesday's Kansas-Iowa State Big 12 Conference battle at Hilton Coliseum. "It all came down to the refs' decision, to see if they approved the cast I was in," said Simien. A soft cast, tape and gray Nike glove on Simien's surgically repaired left thumb received the officials' seal of approval during warmups just minutes before tipoff. "It definitely was a relief. It definitely was good to be back. I didn't know I'd play 37 minutes," gasped the 6-foot-9, 255-pound power forward, who collected 13 points and nine rebounds in the Jayhawks' 71-66 victory before 13,009 fans. Simien may have shown a few signs of rust the first half in scoring four points with four boards in 18 minutes, helping the Jayhawks take a slim 38-35 lead at the break. He came up big the second half, however, when KU (12-0 overall, 2-0 Big 12) needed it the most against the Cyclones (8-5, 0-2), who have lost just two of their last 27 games at Hilton. Simien hit a three-pointer and turn-around jumper to open the second-half scoring. The 10-foot jumper came right after his first try was swatted by Jared Homan. Kansas University All-America candidate Wayne Simien, right, battles for a rebound with Iowa State's Jared Homan late in the Jayhawks' 71-66 victory. In his first game back after having surgery on his left thumb, Simien collected 13 points and nine rebounds as the Jayhawks held off the Cyclones on Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Simien hit another turn-around jumper to bust a 54-all tie with 6:39 left, his bucket following a pair of Keith Langford free throws that answered a 10-0 Iowa State run that had given the Cyclones a 54-52 lead. The Jayhawks, who especially needed Simien with Christian Moody sidelined with an ankle sprain, never trailed again. "It's a bit bulky," Simien said of the cast on his thumb that he said wasn't the cause of his 2-of-6 free-throw shooting. "Shooting-wise, it didn't bother me. I pulled down some boards that I usually grab left-handed. Other than that, it didn't bother me at all." Simien had his thumb whacked more than once. "No pain at all," said the player who was out of action 23 days after undergoing surgery on Dec. 20. The original prognosis called for him to be out four to six weeks. "I took a few shots on it," Simien said. "I took a few shots on it in practice before the game to make sure it was OK. It may have startled me, but no pain, no worries." All KU backers had fewer worries with Simien back on board helping make up for the absence of Moody, who is expected to be in the lineup Saturday at Colorado. "It would have been very difficult for us to win without him," coach Bill Self said, referring to Moody's absence. "I'm sure it had something to do with Wayne being adamant about playing." Simien said that, though the Jayhawks missed Moody, that's not why Simien suited up. "I just wanted to try to focus on playing all week," Simien said. "Christian can do some good things for us, definitely, but that had no effect at all." The Jayhawks learned Simien would be playing in the locker room before the game. Self had talked to the doctors and Simien's parents, receiving the go-ahead from those important parties. The refs got the last word. "I knew he wanted to play," said point guard Aaron Miles, who had eight points and five assists on a night Langford led the way with 18 points and helped hold Curtis Stinson to 18 on 6-of-20 shooting. "When we heard, everybody was like, ‘Welcome back, Dub.' We needed him back." Simien's dad, Wayne, Sr., who was sitting in the stands and had agreed with doctors' prognosis that the player was healthy enough to play, nonetheless was thrilled when his son took the floor for the opening tip. "We had no idea he'd play. He didn't tell us for sure," Wayne Sr. said. "We knew it'd be a game-time decision. We never thought he'd play 37 minutes. It'd been wearing on him. He wanted to get out there to help the team win." All four seniors, plus freshman Alex Galindo, played key roles down the stretch Wednesday. How did Simien make it back in the lineup so soon? "You know, I'm sure there was some divine intervention. He healed quicker than people thought. We've got to thank the man upstairs," Simien Sr. said. And Simien himself deserves credit, too. He was hardly winded playing all but three minutes. "I did a lot of conditioning work at practice, even though I couldn't play," Simien said. "It was important to still get a lot of work in." KU will travel to Colorado on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tipoff.
Posts: 6,193

01-13-2005, 03:14 PM	#20
tk13 ... Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $1882500	Wait until the Royals win their first spring intersquad game. 70 threads. Front page. At least. Guaranteed.
Posts: 54,967

01-13-2005, 04:54 PM	#22
Saulbadguy When a nightmare becomes real Join Date: Nov 2003 Casino cash: $2536966	Oh..and I heartily agree. Keep all related content, be it KU, K-State, or MU, in ONE thread, especially on the same day, and about one game. royr..I see you setting yourself up for a big flamefest once KU loses. They won't win em all.
Posts: 46,968