Kansas City, Mo. ? Nick Collison was mighty concerned about Wayne Simien, so Collison came to the aid of his Kansas University basketball teammate Saturday afternoon.

That doesn’t mean senior forward Collison liked an up-close-and-personal look at sophomore Simien’s dislocated right shoulder midway through the first half of Saturday’s 100-46 victory over UMKC at Kemper Arena.

“It wasn’t pretty. Seeing a separated shoulder was bad,” Collison said after watching Simien’s shoulder pop out of place after Simien jammed his hand on the rim trying to block a Michael Watson layup.

“It’s like you (normally) see the back of your shoulder. Usually it’s clear up to here,” Collison said pointing to the top of his shoulder. “There was a space where your shoulder usually is.”

Collison, who scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds despite straining his own left shoulder in the opening minutes, said the Jayhawks would have to rally without Simien, who definitely will miss Monday’s Big 12 Conference opener at Iowa State.

“We need him back as soon as possible,” Collison said. “Hopefully we can win without him. We’ve got to pull together, play as hard as we ever have. If we fight and scratch we can get a win. If we feel sorry for ourselves, feel we are not at full strength and have to change things, we might struggle. We’ve got to play hard.”

Collison’s shoulder strain is actually a recurring injury. In the past, he’s called it a “loose shoulder.”

“I just give it some time for the pain to go away basically,” Collison said of what he does when the shoulder muscles get stretched. “I also got hit in the jaw once (Saturday). But I’ll be fine.”