Simien ‘fine’; KU routs UIC

Junior forward bounces back from fall; KU in second round

Kansas City, Mo ? It didn’t take long for the party atmosphere to fade Friday night at Kemper Arena.

The euphoria of Kansas University’s early lead in an eventual 78-53 first-round NCAA Tournament blowout win over Illinois-Chicago gave way to grave concern as KU junior Wayne Simien did the splits on the defensive end of the court with 6:32 left in the first half. At the time, KU led, 28-12.

“I didn’t have a lot of positive thoughts while I was laying there on the floor after doing the ballerina splits. It felt pretty bad,” said Simien, who was face-down on the court with his eyes closed as a pro-KU crowd fell silent.

Finally, the 6-foot-9, 250-pounder was helped to his feet and walked to the locker room under his own power.

“I was stunned more than anything else,” Simien said. “I went to the locker room, they wrapped me up and I was good to go. It’s tournament time, you’ve got to rough it out.”

Rough it out Simien did. He returned for the second half to thunderous applause from the fans, many of whom were on hand last year when Simien had his shoulder knocked out of place in a game against UMKC, also at Kemper.

“I am not superstitious,” Simien said, “so I have nothing against Kemper Arena. I’m fine, and I will be able to play on Sunday.”

That would be during a 3:50 p.m. second-round contest against Pacific, a surprise 66-58 winner over Providence.

“Certainly it will be a stretch for him to be effective on Sunday — if he is able to play at all,” said KU coach Bill Self, who admitted it looked awfully bad when Simien crumpled to the floor. “He did the splits.”

Kansas University coach Bill Self, left, and junior forward Wayne Simien (23) lead the cheers from the bench during the Jayhawks' 78-53 victory over Illinois-Chicago. Kansas beat the Flames on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.

Simien’s teammates, who with the big guy in the starting lineup used an 18-2 run to open a 22-8 lead at 10:59, were distraught when the power forward was injured after slipping on a wet spot on the floor.

“I swear my heart stopped,” said junior Jeff Hawkins, who hit a three during that 18-2 surge and had four points and three assists in 11 minutes. “I was so happy when he was able to come back.”

“I kind of panicked a second,” noted Keith Langford, who had 13 points in 24 minutes while playing on his ailing right knee. “You feel bad for Wayne if he is hurt because he wasn’t able to participate in last year’s tournament. We got a big enough lead we didn’t have to play him at the end.”

Simien was able to play 12 minutes the second half, when KU saw its 22-point first-half lead dip to 10 at 45-35 with 14:36 left.

KU, which was led by three double-digit scorers in J.R. Giddens (17), Simien (13) and Langford (13), used a 16-0 run to build a 69-39 advantage, but still Self wasn’t all that impressed.

“I didn’t think we were as focused as we should be,” Self said. “I don’t consider 25 turnovers answering the bell.”

KU committed 25 turnovers to UIC’s 15.

“I told ’em I’d rather be mad at them and win than be happy and lose,” Self said.

The Jayhawks took command early before a supportive crowd.

Giddens, Lee and Hawkins hit threes in the 18-2 surge, while David Padgett contributed four points, including a stickback and hook shot.

Also in the run was a spectacular layin by Langford, who caught a high pass from Aaron Miles and spun the ball into the basket on a remarkably athletic move.

“It felt nasty. I didn’t think I’d make it,” Langford said of the layup. “It was good. Anytime you can make a play and help get the crowd involved, it’s a positive.”

KU led 28-12 when Simien went down and led by as many as 22 points — 34-12 — with 4:51 left in the half.

“We didn’t play as well as we wanted to,” Langford noted, “but it’s a W, and we’ll take one this time of year any way we can.”