6B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2004
New lifestyle,new season,new Wayne Simien
Jared Soares/KANSAN
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
Wayne Simien claps during the Victory Campus Ministries' worship service at Wescoe in November.
The date holds a much larger meaning in the senior forward's life than any moment on the basketball court.
On that day, his 20th birthday,
Wayne Siim gave his life to God.
"You know, I really felt the Lord knockin' on my heart for a long time," he said. "It wasn't really one specific event. It was more like a series of things."
That series of things came from a lifestyle that presented him all of the hedonistic pleasures a college student could ever want. Wayne Simien had fame, women and endless admiration wherever he went.
But it wasn't enough. And when the only identity he'd known his entire life was nearly taken from him, it was then Wayne Simien found himself.
The end of the beginning
March 29, 2003, was one of the greatest nights in Kansas basketball history. The Jayhawks avenged a regular season loss to the Arizona Wildcats just two days after smoking the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16, and Kansas was headed to a second consecutive Final Four. The team looked invincible, and it seemed a mere footnote that then-sophomore forward Wayne Simien was nowhere in sight on the bench in Anaheim, Calif.
Wayne was in a hospital bed in New York City, and as his teammates soared, he hit rock bottom. He was undergoing surgery on a separated shoulder injury he sustained earlier in the season.
"The injury my sophomore year really opened my eyes, because basketball was something that had been the focal point of my life for so long, and that's where I found my identity, was on the court.
"That was taken away from me for awhile, and I had nowhere else to go."
Wayne Simien's mind was going a mile-a-minute, laid up in that hospital.
Does my life have a greater purpose than just a game?
Ultimately, when basketball is over with and my time here is up, what else is there gonna be for me? There's got to be more to life than this ...
The first signs
As the spring semester wound down, Wayne Simien's teammates noticed a change.
One afternoon, Wayne Simien was riding in his black GMC Sierra with teammate, Mike Lee. It was a 50 Cent CD that wound up in Lee's hands that told Lee something was different.
"When I was in the truck with him, he was just giving me CDs," Lee said.
If it was not apparent Wayne Simien was changing by his taste in music, it became clear to Lee, not too much later.
It was the afternoon Wayne climbed the steps on Wescoe Beach and yelled at the top of his lungs, announcing to all passersby the great discovery he had made in his life.
Lee, who had questions as to whether Simien was dedicated to his new lifestyle, put his doubts to rest and gained even more respect for his friend.
"When I heard about it, I was back in Portland, and he called and told me," Lee said. "I believed it, but I was like 'Yeah, I gotta see it to believe it.' He did it though, and I think it takes a lot of guts to do what Wayne did."
Anyone who knew Wayne Simien before, however, would have had the same reservations as Lee.
"I had the fame, successful career so far, a platform, girls, status," Wayne said. "Basically, my freshman and sophomore year, I had everything that the world said should make me happy."
After giving his life to God, for the first time Wayne said he had true happiness.
do without it. Now, the current Wayne, I just see it as a tool to use in this season of my life.
"You know, basketball I defi-
titely don't see in the same light as
I did before," he said. "The 2001
Wayne would ask what would I
"Obviously, it's not going to be there forever, but my relationship with the Lord and the things I can do as far as trying to help other people know the same love that I know, that'll be there as long as I live," Wayne said.
The new posse
When Wayne Simien decided to change his lifestyle, it also meant he surrounded himself with a new supporting cast.
One of the most influential role models in Wayne's life now is his roommate, Dan Coke.
Coke helped Wayne at the onset of his quest for a new lifestyle last year, and he set a great example. Wayne admired that while being a member of the Kansas football team, Coke was enrolled in 24-credit hours and was also working intensively with Victory Campus Ministries.
appear holier than thou.
When Wayne became involved with VCM, cynics thought it was just another big-name athlete making a superficial ploy to
"Well, it's really popular in the athletic world to stand up and say I'd like to thank God," said Erik Fish, Midwest regional representative for VCM. "Knowing Wayne on a more personal level, I saw the way he treated others in private, the way he lives and the way he really cared about people."
The new Wayne Simien
It's a chilly Thursday night and you can feel winter coming in the air.
At this hour, campus seems like a ghost town, and most students are either at home studying or getting ready to head out to the bars.
A small crowd gathers outside one of the lecture halls in Wescoe Hall. Leaning up against a wall is Wayne Simien, and, physically, he looms over everyone else, with a personality to match.
to fraternize, worship and learn God's lessons.
He's got something to talk about with everyone who walks by, whether it's about the Chiefs, clothes or music.
Inside the hall, just like every Thursday night, students come
Inside the lecture hall, Wayne Simien stands in the front row, swaying his body with the songs of worship performed by his good friend, Mitch Langley. There's lights and speakers, the whole nine yards. It's a long way from 50 Cent, and that's part of the reason he loves it so much — just like his life now, this music has a meaning and a message special to Wayne.
You give and take away,
You give and take away
You give and take away
God is on his mind, all day,
every day.
My heart will choose to say. Blessed be your name.
"In class, I'll be like 'Wayne, you payin' attention?'?" Lee said. "And he's like 'Yeah, yeah,' and he's reading his Bible, highlight-ing stuff.
And this is just one of many ways Wayne shows his love for God.
"His whole focus is different," Lee said. "I think one of the best things that did for him is that he doesn't just waste his time, you know, going out, entertaining all the girls and that stuff. It's a total turnaround from where he was as a freshman."
Even now, Wayne leads a Bible study for his teammates and is an active member and contributor at Morning Star Church.
In his mind, his place is just as another guy spreading God's message; not a preseason All-American on one of the nation's top college basketball teams, a player who is staring at millions in NBA dollars this summer.
There was no better example of this than this past Halloween.
The Morning Star Church held a Harvest Party for its youth group. Wayne wanted to stop by and hang out, but basketball practice went late, and by the time he showed up sweaty and exhausted, the church was trashed, with popcorn everywhere.
Wayne began on clean-up duty, and noticed one of the high school kids staring at him.
"I just asked him 'What you
starin' at?" you know, just messaging with him. He just said it was awesome to see someone who has the potential to sign a multimillion dollar contract next year, and he's out here vacuuming the church floor late at night."
Looking back
Wayne Simien does not make excuses for the way he used to act. He is consumed with how fulfilling his life is now, how he has found a joy never before felt and how he wants others to feel the same love as him.
With the pressure of making himself happy lifted from his shoulders, Wayne began to play basketball with nothing to lose.
Wayne showed it last season, leading the team in points per game (17.8) and rebounds per game (9.3). He was ultimately named a Third Team All-American by The Associated Press, and returning for his senior season, he is staring down a first-round draft spot in June's NBA Draft.
They'll get a man who knows that all the superficial temptations that come with the NBA lifestyle cannot change him from the spiritually-satisfied person he's become.
Wherever Wayne goes in the NBA, the organization will get more than a basketball player.
He does not make excuses, but if he had the chance to visit Wayne Simien circa 2001, Wayne knows he would have tried to open his eyes much earlier.
"Man, just that you have an awesome destiny, and that it doesn't start with yourself," he said. "With the platform that athletics have, not only on this campus, but in society, you know, it could be used for something so much greater than free drinks at the club."
"Use the ability and the talent and that platform that people give you for something greater than yourself."
Edited by Marissa Stephenson