Wayne Anthony Simien Jr. (born March 9, 1983) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player, who last played with Spain's Cáceres Ciudad de Baloncesto. He was a member of the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

when they won the 2006 NBA championship. Simien played in college at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, where he was a consensus first-team All-American his senior year in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

High school career

Growing up, Simien was a

fan due to his proximity to Lawrence. He committed to play for Roy Williams and the University of Kansas as early as the 8th or 9th grade, and was later named to the 2001

McDonald's All-American Team The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

. He played for the Leavenworth Pioneers in high school with Coach Larry Hogan and led the Pioneers to a 6A-State Championship his junior year in high school. During his high school career, he began working with world-renowned conditioning coach Istvan Javorek.

College career

At Kansas, Simien received All-American honors his junior and senior years. He was a

Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

finalist both years, and was the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

Player of the Year his senior year. His college career ended when Kansas was defeated by 14th-seeded Bucknell in the first round of the 2005 NCAA tournament. While at Kansas he won three Big 12 Championships and earned four NCAA Tournament berths including two Final Four appearances (one national runner-up finish) and one Elite 8 finish. Simien finished his college career with 110 wins and a 12–4 NCAA Tournament record. Simien was the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner his final year, recognizing him as the nation's top senior men's basketball player. He finished his career as the 12th leading all-time scorer at Kansas with 1,593 points. Kansas retired his number 23 jersey on January 29, 2011.

College statistics

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Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

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, 16, , -, , 24.4, , .646, , -, , .676, , 8.2, , .6, , .9, , .3, , 14.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32, , -, , 32.7, , .532, , .182, , .811, , 9.3, , 1.2, , .9, , .9, , 17.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;",

, 26, , -, , 34.3, , .552, , .286, , .816, , 11.0, , 1.4, , .6, , .6, , 20.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 106, , -, , 26.6, , .566, , .24, , .784, , 8.3, , 0.9, , .7, , .7, , 15.0

Professional career

Simien was selected with the 29th overall selection of the

2005 NBA Draft The 2005 NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players fro ...

by the

, with whom he won a championship in 2006. During the regular season, he appeared in 43 games (about 10 minutes per game), averaging 3 points and 2

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, but only managed two postseason appearances. Simien could not participate in the Heat's 2006 Summer League program because of a

salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and '' Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is fur ...

infection. His contribution during the season consisted of eight games. Simien was traded from the Heat along with

Antoine Walker Antoine Devon Walker (born August 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008. Walker ...

and Michael Doleac to the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 24, 2007, for

Ricky Davis Tyree Ricardo Davis (born September 23, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for University of Iowa. Biography Davis atten ...

and Mark Blount. However, on October 29, Simien was waived by the Wolves in order for them to keep their roster at the 15-player limit. He was given a Summer League invitation by the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, but did not play due to a

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrup ...

injury. He later received a training camp invitation from the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

which was subsequently withdrawn. Simien joined, in October 2008,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

's Cáceres 2016 Basket, in the country's second level. Simien decided to retire from professional basketball on May 5, 2009, to pursue his Christian ministry called Called To Greatness. In August 2021, he took a position with the University of Kansas Athletic Department as the Associate Athletic Director of Engagment and Outreach.

Personal life

Simien married his wife, Katie, on July 8, 2006.

References

External links

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College stats and info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simien, Wayne 1983 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American Christians American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kansas Cáceres Ciudad del Baloncesto players Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Miami Heat draft picks Miami Heat players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Sportspeople from Leavenworth, Kansas Power forwards (basketball) 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people