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16A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
THURSDAY;FEBRUARY 20,2003
Simien shines in spite of injury
Rrandon Baker/Kansan
Kansas forward keeps scoring through pain, brace of shoulder
By John Domoney
jdomoney@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
One word might determine the fate of the Kansas men's basketball team's season. One word is definitely going to be attached to anything spoken or written about Wayne Simien's right shoulder.
The word is tweak, and Simien is already sick of the sound of it to his ear.
"I hate that word tweak," Simien said after Kansas beat Colorado 94-87 last night in Allen Fieldhouse. "I don't have a better word for it, but I'm tired of saying it."
Simien played in his second game back since sitting out 11 games because of his shoulder injury. The sophomore forward stole the show as he scored 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Nick Collison, senior forward, pulls down a rebound on defense. Ten out of Collison's 14 total rebounds during the Jayhawks victory over Colorado were on defense
Simien displayed his entire arsenal of moves, which included the baby hook shoot, the 17-foot jump shot and the crowd-pleasing alley-oop.
"Every teammate you have sees what Wayne Simien did," Kansas coach Roy. Williams said. "If that doesn't fire you up, there's something wrong with you."
According to Williams, Simien's status for last night's game was in question after Simien had shoulder pain during Monday's practice.
"Monday when I went to my call-in show I thought he was finished." Williams said. "But he went out and shot free throws
after practice. On Tuesday in practice, he did everything."
Simien was the do everything man for the Jayhawks during his 20 minutes of play.
Even with a sore shoulder, Simien played a role in holding Colorado forward Stephane Pelle to two points on 1-of-7 shooting. Pelle took advantage of Simien's absence in Colorado's earlier victory over Kansas, scoring 27 points including the game-winning shot.
Buffalo guard Blair Wilson said Simien's play made Kansas a tougher team to beat than the Jayhawk squad Colorado defeated in January.
"Graves is good, but he's no Wayne Simien." Wilson said.
Simien might have appeared to not miss a beat, but the crowd held its collective breath as he went to the bench holding his right shoulder with 13:22 left in the second half.
After leaving for the locker room with trainer Mark Cairns to ice his shoulder, Simien returned to the bench. At the 8:26 mark in the second half, Simien returned to the floor to the roars of the crowd.
Simien's night was over when he went to the bench favoring his sore shoulder 4 points and three minutes later.
"It's just something that will happen until I get it fixed," Simien said. "I've accepted that, coach has accepted that."
Hinrich suffered a deep ankle sprain in the first round victory over Holy Cross and returned to play in Kansas' remaining four games in the tournament.
Williams compared Simien's shoulder pain to that experienced by guard Kirk Hinrich during last year's NCAA Tournament.
After last night's game, Hinrich told reporters that playing with such a painful injury could go further than just the physical element.
"I think it's a big deal because not only does it hurt, it's a big
deal mentally." Hinrich said.
Williams canceled practice today to give the Jayhawks a rest before they travel to Norman, Okla, for Sunday's Big-12 Conference showdown.
Simien said he would be ready to play in what figured to be a physical game with the Sooners.
- Edited by Julie Jantzer
Riley comes back to coach Oregon St.
After four NFL years Mike Riley returned to coaching college
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — Four years after leaving Oregon State for the NFL, Mike Riley has rejoined the Beavers as head coach, a university spokesman said yesterday night.
Riley, who spent last year as an assistant with the New Orleans Saints, will be introduced at press conference Thursday, said Steve Fenk, an assistant sports information director.
Riley, head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 1999-2001, replaces Dennis Erickson, who left Oregon State to become head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.
The school said Riley contacted athletic director Bob De Carolis the day it was announced that Erickson was leaving.
Riley was among several candidates De Carolis interviewed, including Boise State coach Dan Hawkins and Oregon State assistants Tim Lappano, Dan Cozetto and Gregg Smith.
The 49-year-old Riley grew up in Corvallis and attended Corvallis High School. He was 8-14 during his tenure with the Beavers, although his recruits found success under Erickson.
Riley left for San Diego. He was fired after going 14-34 in three seasons with the Chargers, and signed with the Saints as assistant head coach in charge of defensive backs.
Riley also interviewed for earlier vacancies at Alabama and UCLA. He was offered the Alabama job, but turned it down to wait for UCLA's decision.
The Bruins ultimately went with Denver Broncos receivers coach Karl Dorrell.
The Beavers finished 7-5 in 1999 under Erickson, after an NCAA-record 28 straight losing seasons. The following season, Oregon State went a school-best 11-1 and beat Notre Dame 41-9 in the Fiesta Bowl.
Replacing Erickson — 31-17 during his four years with the Beavers — was the first major challenge faced by De Carolis, promoted to athletic director last August.
De Carolis replaced Mitch Barnhart, who hired Erickson in 1999 but left last summer to become Kentucky's athletic director.
Before his first stint at Oregon State, Riley served as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator-quarterbacks coach at the University of Southern California from 1993-96.
Riley served as the head coach of the San Antonio Riders of the World League of American Football from 1991-92. Riley led the Riders to a record of 11-9 over two seasons, including 4-6 in 1991 and 7-3 in 1992.
Riley spent the 1987-90 seasons as the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, where he was 40-32 and two Grey Cup championships. He the CFL Coach of the Year following the 1988 and 1990 seasons after each of his team's Grey Cup victories.
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