Not In Kansas Anymore

---

November 28: HEAT Defeat Knicks, 107-94

Dancer Gallery Four

Thanksgiving in Overtown

---

MIAMI, November 23 — Taking off from Kansas City airport to Miami, HEAT rookie Wayne Simien was not only leaving behind the his friends, family and hometown – a place where he has lived his entire life – but he was also leaving behind his high-profile life of a Kansas hoops star. All of the accolades that Simien earned from playing basketball on the college campus located inside Lawrence, Kansas – the Unanimous Big 12 Player of the Year Award, the Consensus All-American First Team – basically had to be wiped away to start a new life in the NBA. He was on his way to become just one of the guys on a star-studded HEAT team to play alongside two of the biggest basketball stars on the face of the earth, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade.

Just the previous night, Simien was drafted by the HEAT with the 29th pick of the NBA Draft. And from that moment on, life became about adjustments for the HEAT rookie. Simien, for the first time in his life, was making a move to live outside of the Sunflower State.

The 6-9, 229-pound power forward had to adjust from being ‘the man’, where he led his team and Big 12 Conference in points, rebounds, and double-doubles, on a Kansas team where Jayhawk basketball ruled the state, to the Sunshine State – a state loaded with talent enriched professional and college sports teams. He also had to earn his keep with his new teammates and coaches and compete for playing time against veteran NBA players such as Udonis Haslem, Antoine Walker, Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O’Neal.

But challenging his teammates for playing time is the easy task for the HEAT newcomer. During his freshman season at UK, Simien had to compete against All-American forwards and future first-round draft picks Drew Gooden and Nick Collison.

However, the toughest adjustment may have been when Simien stepped off the plane and took a look at his new Miami surroundings and realized – he’s not in Kansas anymore.

“On the plane ride here, I was glued to the window trying to catch my first glimpse of my new home,” Simien said. “Watching the palm trees and beaches, it was nice.

“I never really knew much about Miami,” he continued. “The only things that I knew about the city was from the TV show “CSI: Miami” and the “Bad Boys” movies. I knew about the tropical settings, but I’ve never been to South Florida before. I was excited about getting down here to see what it was like.

“I grew up in Leavenworth, which is only an hour drive away from the University of Kansas,” he continued. “This is my first time away from home and out of the state. I’m used to small town life so it’s going to take a little adjustment getting used to the big city. But it’s time for change. My mom and dad offered to follow me, but I had to say no, because you always want a place to come home to. I’m excited to be able to move to a large city and kind of see how things work out here.”

The new HEAT forward quickly found that stepping out on your own for the first time isn’t easy or cheap either. Especially when you’re a recent college graduate and still used to the college lifestyle – living pay check to pay check, eating pizza and macaroni and cheese, and living with three other male roommates in order to make rent.

“It’s nice, but it’s definitely different from Kansas,” Simien said. “The two states are basically incomparable. The size of the city, the diversity and the hussle-and-bussle of Miami is totally different. In Kansas, wherever you needed to go, you can be there in 10 or 15 minutes. I think I’m adjusting well, though. The people are warm when they see me out in public. I’ve had the opportunity to get out in the community a little bit, do a few things and I found a local church. I definitely received a warm welcome.

“It was very tough for me trying to find a place and seeing what it’s going to cost for me to live down here,” he continued. “That’s just the way it is, you can’t do anything about that. It was definitely a little bit over whelming, seeing what things are priced in the grocery store and in Target.

“I think my rent is 12 times more out here in Miami and I think I’m losing a couple of hundred square feet.”

Ask any new Miami or Florida resident what is their biggest adjustment, and the majority would say the weather and the hurricanes, but not for Simien. Although the summer-long climate is welcomed, he is all too familiar with natural forces such as hurricanes. And when hurricane Katrina ripped through South Florida and Southeast United States this summer, he was well prepared for the results.

“I made it out in the dark just like everyone else. Obviously, Kansas is known for having a lot of tornados. We go through those. A lot of the effects are similar as far as having no lights, no power and the high winds and rains, but a tornado blows through in 10 or 15 minutes. This lasted the whole evening. I can’t complain because we came out pretty good compared to Mississippi and Louisiana. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by Katrina.”

Through rain or sunshine, Simien is quickly adjusting to his new life in Miami and he hopes that that will include helping the HEAT on the court.

“I’m adjusting well. I’m not homesick or anything. I’m really enjoying it and can’t wait to help this team win.”