The dislocation of Kansas' title hopes

Sporting News, The, March 10, 2003 by Mike DeCourcy

Two fluke plays cost Kansas its pursuit of a national championship. This game can be like that sometimes, but usually its capricious nature is manifested in Christian Laettner landing a buzzer-beating jump shot or Danny Ainge dusting off five Notre Dame defenders on a coast-to-coast drive.

There was no such drama involving KU power forward Wayne Simien. He was injured on two plays with marginal impact on the games in which they occurred, games destined to be blowouts regardless of his contributions. On the first, in a game against Missouri-Kansas City that the Jayhawks won by 54 points, Simien's right shoulder separated after he jammed his arm on the rim while blocking a shot. The second happened last week, when he was trying to prevent a drive by Texas A&M's Bernard King and an odd collision temporarily dislocated the shoulder. Simien appeared for 48 seconds in that game, but KU won, 85-45.

"If you look at it on tape," says Kid coach Roy Williams, "it was like a fly on a horse's rear end. I mean, there was not much to it. It was not a big contact."

Simien had played in just three games since sitting out six weeks while recovering from the first injury. During his comeback, he averaged 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds, close to the numbers he typically produced when healthy. He scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the best game of his return, as KU avenged an earlier loss to Colorado.

In their first 14 games without a full-time Simien, the Jayhawks were 12-2, showing they still could have enough to produce a second consecutive Final Four appearance. But they do not have in them the six wins necessary to claim Williams' first national title.

There are three clear reasons for this, and it's more involved than accounting for Simien's points and rebounds.

Offense. The Jayhawks' perimeter offense hasn't evolved enough. This probably is connected to KU's scramble to recover from a horrible start and then its scramble to survive Simien's first injury.

Of the Jayhawks' big men, Simien is the most comfortable firing outside shots, most often from the vicinity of the foul line. Although that does not inflict the same stress on a defense as a potent 3-point attack, it provides additional room for center Nick Collison to operate inside. Simien's replacement, Jeff Graves, is a rugged scrapper who can finish plays but is not a jump shooter. Graves would not be capable of delivering the same level of post production were KU to move Collison into a jump-shooting position.

Had the inside offense developed, point guard Aaron Miles and wing Keith Langford might have achieved the necessary comfort level to advance as long-range shooters. Neither is entirely comfortable or completely inept in that regard, but the tactics that were necessary to win games left shooting guard Kirk Hinrich stranded as KU's only deep threat. It's unlikely that can change now.

Defense. The Jayhawks aren't a fortress even with a full complement of players. They are excellent at forcing turnovers and capable of making big stops, but they tend not to fight fiercely enough through perimeter screens.

Without Simien, the remaining KU big men don't have the luxury of playing aggressively. The Jayhawks learned this at Colorado, when two absurd calls against Graves left them in the position of defending gifted Buffs power forward Stephane Pelle with guard Michael Lee, who stands 6 inches shorter. Pelle launched the game-winning shot directly over Lee's noggin.

Special teams. Simien's absence forced williams to develop his reserves more actively, and he has gotten more from Graves, Lee and forward Bryant Nash than seemed feasible during the season's first month.

Having arrived from junior college drastically out of shape, Graves has flourished in Simien's absence and has become a forceful rebounder. Nash has made some impressive athletic plays and even made a crucial 3-pointer in KU's home win over Texas. Lee has become a sturdy defender and strong finisher on the break. Without Simien, each is forced into a more prominent role than is ideal.

"Seeing after that (second) Colorado game what we had been missing got everyone a little excited again," Lee says. "We just have to get the best we can out of what we've got."

Williams' handling of this situation goes against the beliefs of those who insist all or most college coaches concern themselves exclusively with their program's achievements--even to the detriment of their players' health, education and welfare. Before Simien returned from the initial injury, Williams held him back three weeks longer than mandated by doctors. And even after the second injury, Williams could have cajoled Simien into returning now.

Simien might have been available to participate in the NCAA Tournament. He had endured significant pain merely to rejoin the team when he did. According to the physicians involved, the discomfort was not causing additional injury to the joint. But there was an undeniable logic to ending this struggle for the player and the team. Simien can get on about the business of healing his shoulder and benefit from additional recovery time before his junior year. The Jayhawks will be better able to focus on their March excursions without stopping to look back at whether Simien is coming along.