Kansas University power forward Wayne Simien hopes to make as big of a splash on the basketball court this season as he did at an area pond this summer.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound junior from Leavenworth caused quite a ripple when, fishing pole in hand, he plunged from a boat into once-placid waters during an outing in June.

Here’s the all-Big 12 Conference basketball candidate’s tall fishing tale:

“I’ve become pretty good friends with one of the local bus drivers here. We got our fishing poles and went fishing on a little farm pond one of his friends owns,” Simien said Thursday.

“I thought we’d walk around the edge (of pond) and fish. He wanted to get in this little boat that was as wide as this little recorder,” Simien explained, picking up a reporter’s hand-held tape player.

“I said, ‘I’m a big dude.’ He said everything was fine. We were in the boat fishing two hours. Finally I hooked one pretty good. I couldn’t lift it over the edge just with the rod, so I kind of had to lean over. I forgot my friend was working the trolling motor on that side.

“We both were on the same side of the boat. It was all she wrote. The boat tipped over. All the water rushed in. Luckily, it wasn’t deep. All our stuff — we’ve got tackle boxes floating, chips, coolers — floating all over the lake while I’m trying to keep the boat up.”

Simien didn’t receive much help from his pal.

“It was funny,” Simien said. “The guy I was with is short, about 5-3. I was trying to hold the boat up, water is up to my neck. I said, ‘You’ve got to help me hold the boat.’

“He said, ‘If I do, I’m gonna drown.’ Finally we got the boat to shore, pitched all the water out and went fishing again.”

Despite all the commotion, Simien was able to keep the big bass on the hook.

“After all that, we definitely kept him,” Simien said.

Simien catches fish as a hobby — and sees them daily while peering into the aquarium in his apartment.

Simien’s only roommates this year are his fish.

“I have a Beta fish named ‘Petey’ and a bunch of little tropical fish — too many to name — so I call ’em ‘La Familia.’ That’s ‘the family’ in Spanish,” Simien explained.

Simien is in great spirits these days as he continues to take part in individual workouts, seemingly 100 percent recovered from March 29 surgery to repair torn ligaments in his shoulder.

“It was a long summer,” said Simien, who was cleared to play shortly after returning to campus this semester. “I did my job this summer when I was by myself. Everybody was at Nike camp, Jordan camp, where I really wanted to be. But I got that work done so I’d be ready to play this year.

“I might have the most fire of anybody (in country) right now. I missed 22 games (last year), and I had to watch the national-championship game from the sideline. My fire is up right now. I’m ready to go.”

Simien has reported to school about 250 pounds. He said he weighed 257 a year ago.

“I was not able to lift all summer. I lost some weight,” he said, “but physically and mentally I think I’m strong enough to get the job done.”

• College, not NBA, on his mind: Simien was asked for the first time this school year about the possibility of leaving for the NBA after three college seasons.

“I don’t know, man. I don’t really have an answer for that now,” he said. “Right now my focus is on the season. I still have a lot to show, a lot of question marks and whatnot. If it happens (NBA interest), it’s something I’ll definitely have to consider, but right now I haven’t played a game yet, so there’s not much to talk about.”

NBAdraft.net speculates that Simien would be chosen 19th in the first round by New Orleans.

• Recruiting weekend: Three high-school seniors are making campus recruiting trips to KU this weekend: C.J. Giles, 6-10 from Seattle, is considering KU, Miami and Arizona; Quentin Thomas, 6-4 from Oakland, Calif., is considering KU, North Carolina and Arizona State; and Russell Robinson, 6-1 from New York, is considering KU, Connecticut, Georgia Tech and Kentucky.