Former Jayhawk basketball star Wayne Simien will have his jersey retired on Jan. 29, 2011.

Wayne Simien was born in Kansas. Bred in Kansas. Not quite wed in Kansas — that ceremony was in Miami, after his Heat won the NBA title — but he sure now lives in Kansas.

So forgive the former college first team All-American if he’s a little overwhelmed that his beloved blue No. 23 jersey will be hoisted to the top of the south wall at Allen Fieldhouse, during half-time of Saturday’s Kansas-Kansas State men’s game.

Near-perfect timing, for an all-out Kansan.

“It’s a pretty momentous day, with it being Kansas Day,” said Simien said earlier this week, looking forward to his home state’s 150th birthday. “You’ve got KU-K-State for both the men’s and women’s games. It’s also my son Simon’s birthday; he’ll be turning one. I remember that being one of the most important things: He was born on Kansas Day.

“There’s a lot to celebrate. We’ll hopefully be celebrating a win over Kansas State as well.”

Simien was born and raised in Leavenworth — “the first city in Kansas,” he says proudly — and that’s where he and his classmates spent each week leading up to Kansas Day learning all things Kansas: dates, traditions, industries and anything else characterizing the Sunflower State.

Then, from 2002 to 2005, he had a chance to add to the storied history of the Kansas basketball program.

“It was a dream of mine to be able to play at Kansas,” Simien said, “but to be considered one of the all-time greats? There’s not a lot of Kansas guys that went to Kansas who were great players — most of the guys, the prominent guys, were recruited from out of state.

“That’s one of the things that makes this so special: to a have a true Kansas guy up there.”

Simien is such a “Kansas guy” that he tuned out a late-night showing of the original “True Grit.” Simien ended up turning against John Wayne’s character, “Rooster” Cogburn, who had professed respect on screen for a certain someone known for leading a raid of pro-slavery marauders into Lawrence, killing 150 people.

“He rolled with (William) Quantrill,” Simien said. “I was like, ‘Really?’ Immediately, I lost all interest in that character and didn’t want to root for him. This guy was calling Quantrill a patriot, a ‘captain.’

“Me, being the Kansan I am, I didn’t want to watch that movie anymore.”

Simien instead prefers to be a fan of his Jayhawks. He notes that “you can’t help but cheer” for current players Brady Morningstar, who grew up in Lawrence, and Tyrel Reed, who is from Burlington.

“They understand just how much Kansas basketball means to the state,” said Simien, who serves as KU’s team chaplain. “They’re representing more than themselves and their hometowns. It’s more than that.”