Simien alone at top
Coaches tap senior player of year
The postseason awards already are starting to pour in for Kansas University power forward Wayne Simien.
Simien, a 6-foot-9, 255-pound senior from Leavenworth, Monday was named Big 12 Conference player of the year in a unanimous vote by league coaches.
He also was named first-team All-Big 12 by the Associated Press and by the league coaches, who both released their list of honorees Monday.
KU’s Keith Langford was named second team by both the coaches and the AP; Aaron Miles was named second team by the AP and third team by the coaches.
“Wayne is very deserving. I’m very happy for Wayne. He’s worked very hard and overcome a lot of stuff,” KU coach Bill Self said. “Hopefully it’ll parlay into a first-team All-America as well. I think he’s in the game for national player of the year, but I know a lot of things have to go right for him and more importantly for us down the stretch.”
Self also was pleased Langford and Miles were recognized, though he felt Miles was deserving of second team from both groups. Miles was named on at least five of AP’s first-team ballots.
“We couldn’t vote for our own players or I’d have had all three on first team,” Self said. “Keith’s second team is very deserving. Aaron made third team. I felt midway through the season he was probably a first teamer. I was disappointed in that, but congratulations to all three. They are very deserving.”
Simien, who averaged 19.4 points and 11.1 rebounds a game in the regular season, said if he had a vote for player of the year, it would go to Oklahoma State’s Joey Graham, who joined Simien as a unanimous first-team AP pick.
Kansas University senior Wayne Simien, seen shooting over Oklahoma State's Joey Graham in this file photo from Feb. 27 at Allen Fieldhouse, was named the unanimous Big 12 Conference's player of the year by the league's coaches. Simien said Monday he would have tapped Graham, like Simien a first-team all-league pick, for the honor.
“There are a lot of really good players in the Big 12, but for all-around skills, I’d have to say Joey Graham,” Simien said of the league’s top player.
Other AP first teamers were OSU’s John Lucas, Texas Tech’s Ronald Ross and Texas A&M’s Antoine Wright. The coaches had OU’s Taj Gray on the first team instead of Wright.
As far as Simien, he set a KU record this year by hitting 34 consecutive free throws. That was five short of the Big 12 record, set by Graham, the twin brother of the Cowboys’ Stephen Graham.
“He’s big enough and strong enough to play (inside),” Simien said of Joey Graham. “But he also has perimeter skills that are so sharp, he causes a lot of matchup problems for big guys out there trying to guard him.”
Simien is expected to be named the AP’s player of the year later this week. Texas A&M’s Billy Gillispie was named the coach’s Big 12 coach of the year, while Gray was the coach’s newcomer of the year and Texas’ Daniel Gibson freshman of the year.
“I’m very happy and proud for him,” Self said of Gillispie, his former assistant at Illinois and Tulsa. “Texas A&M certainly showed remarkable improvement this year.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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