Wayne Simien Debate

Credit: The Big 12 Basketball Blog

At Legends of the Phog I had a debate with another guy about who the best player was on the floor at the time.  We further debated who was the most athletic guy on the floor and which guy you would want on your team if you were starting one from scratch.  I don't remember all of the results of those debates, but there was one topic that I do know we agreed on. That was the "who was the best college basketball player?" debate.  It was a unanimous Wayne Simien.

Wayne was on campus when I was there. I remember him going out on the town. I heard rumors of him partying with a girl I knew and having a very, very good time.  I also remember watching him (when healthy) just dominate on the basketball floor.  A stereotypical "tweener," he played bigger than he was. That little baseline fadeaway was unstoppable.  Also seemed like he was always in the right place for a put-back.  The guy was just a beast.

Before Michigan State game in '03 where
Simien dominated for 28 points (taken from my seat)

Reading the Jason King book, you get a good idea of the transition Wayne went through in college. I certainly recommend the read. One thing I know for sure. Couldn't ask for a better representative for Kansas basketball. Because he's so vocal and so well-known now for his testimony, people forget (including me) that he was a monster on the basketball court. Good to be reminded of that from time to time.