Wayne Simien won’t start, but he is expected to play at noon Sunday when Kansas University plays host to Iowa State at Allen Fieldhouse.

That’s the latest news on KU’s 6-foot-9, 255-pound sophomore forward, who has missed 11 consecutive basketball games because of a right shoulder injury.

“I am one of those guys that is so sentimental I want to see how the crowd reacts when he goes into the game,” KU coach Roy Williams said of Simien, who was averaging 15.9 points and 8.7 boards when he dislocated his right shoulder on Jan. 4.

Suffice it to say the crowd will roar if and when the popular Leavenworth sophomore enters the game. Barring any setbacks, Simien will definitely return.

“I think he’s in fine shape,” Williams said. “Still, there’s a difference in being in shape and being in basketball shape. I don’t think he would be able to go out there and play eight minutes in a row and not be bothered by it.”

Simien practiced hard on Friday at Allen Fieldhouse and will practice today in preparation for his return, but Williams said he didn’t know how much Simien would play.

“It would be a gradual thing,” Williams said. “I never try to determine how many minutes. I don’t have a blueprint.

“If he does go out and makes his first three shots and blocks their first three shots and gets the next three rebounds, my guess is he’d play a little bit longer. I’m going to go by the way he feels and the way he plays at the same time be careful he doesn’t get to a stage of his conditioning that makes it uncomfortable for him.”

Simien didn’t practice ferociously Friday.

“I told him I don’t want to see that,” Williams said.

Williams, in fact, told Simien a story about former North Carolina player James Worthy, who returned from a serious ankle injury his sophomore season and toned down his high-flying act, only to resume flashy play his junior year.

Kansas University forward Wayne Simien gets hacked by Florida's Mario Boggan in this file photo. Simien plans to return from injury this Sunday against Iowa State.

“I think Wayne will right now try to change his game a little bit. He’ll use his left hand more,” Williams said

Simien, who will wear a brace, has been practicing that left-handed shot.

“He’s had some of the most outrageous left-handed dunks the last couple weeks I’ve ever seen,” Williams said. “He was able to get a couple rebounds in traffic yesterday that were very impressive.”

Simien was unavailable for comment Friday, but earlier in the week said, “There’s nothing more I can do to help the shoulder. If it comes out again, it comes out. My heart says I’ll be playing.”

One teammate, however, said he was glad to see Simien back.

“It will affect us a lot,” senior Kirk Hinrich said. “He is a huge part of our team and we’ve been kind of scrambling without him. I know he’s been frustrated with the situation and it will be nice to see him out there.”

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Flu bug: KU junior forward Jeff Graves practiced fully on Friday, despite a case of the flu. Hinrich, who was ill during Tuesday’s win at Baylor, has recovered from his flu bug.

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Reunion weekend: About 190 letterwinners will attend tonight’s 105 years of basketball banquet at the Holidome and be introduced at halftime of Sunday’s game.

Dallas Mavericks forward Raef LaFrentz will have his jersey retired in a pre-game ceremony Sunday.

“I love sitting back and listening to all the stories and seeing their impressions of getting together with their teammates that they haven’t seen for five years,” Williams said. KU plays host to a hoops reunion every five seasons.

LaFrentz has a game tonight in Dallas, but the Mavericks are idle Sunday.

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Not funny: Hinrich was asked about an item in the school paper’s “Free For All” section that threatened sophomore guard Aaron Miles.

The item in Friday’s University Daily Kansan read: “Aaron Miles, you’re lucky I’m not a ninja. Otherwise I’d fly over there and cut off your head with my ninja sword. Start playing some basketball, man.”

The Jayhawks weren’t amused.

“This is ridiculous,” Hinrich said. “Whoever would call in and write that is just an idiot. Somebody finds that amusing. I think it’s ridiculous. It’s happened to others, not just Aaron. That whole thing is a set up to take shots at whoever. I’m surprised they can do that. It seems like it’s libelous.”

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Recruiting visit: Daniel Gibson, a 6-3 guard from Jones High in Houston, will be on campus today and Sunday for his official recruiting visit. Gibson is considering KU, Texas, Georgia Tech, Arkansas and Oklahoma.