Posted June 29, 200519 yr dont really follow college bball.........is this guy good? will he help out?
June 29, 200519 yr I'm glad we took him. I also would have been happy with Salim Stoudemire. We needed an experienced player on the bench, and we just got one.
June 29, 200519 yr Re-signing Udonis is the Heat's top priority, and I think theyll get it done. Simien is more likely to replace Christian Laettner, who probably won't be back.
June 29, 200519 yr I heard Djones is going to opt out and test free agency. Maybe we should have went with Salim
June 29, 200519 yr Great pick the the Heat. IF he can stay healthy, he will be a REALLY good player for them and a steal going that late.
June 29, 200519 yr A 20 and 10 player during his final year in college. GREAT pick considering we had the second to last pick in the draft.
June 29, 200519 yr A 20 and 10 player during his final year in college. GREAT pick considering we had the second to last pick in the draft. 830402[/snapback] Just so you know, there is this thing called the second round.
June 29, 200519 yr I really like Charlotte's draft....you can't underscore the Felton and May connection.
June 29, 200519 yr Great pick by the Heat!! I was hoping we would get him since analyzing the draft. And once the 21st pick hit, I was clenching my fists while watching David Stern's mouth movement on every pick, hoping the next name didn't start with a 'Way.' Very happy he slipped to 29!
June 29, 200519 yr I really like Charlotte's draft....you can't underscore the Felton and May connection. 830411[/snapback]Â They are DESPERATE to sell tickets, so it made a lot of sense....even though I am iffy on how good of pros they will be (although being together will help them).
June 29, 200519 yr I think Milwaukee had a really good draft too, not just Bogut 830474[/snapback] You know something about Ersan Ilyasova? :plain
June 29, 200519 yr Author from the herald:  With pick, Heat thinks inside box BY ISRAEL GUTIERREZ [email protected]  Four days before the NBA draft, Heat general manager Randy Pfund said one of the characteristics of this year's draft was the surplus of quality power forwards available. So it's probably no surprise that one of the elite college power forwards was available at No. 29. The Heat selected Kansas forward Wayne Simien, the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and a first-team All-American who played four years of college basketball and once was thought as a potential lottery pick. And given his credentials and experience, Simien might be a contributor as a rookie, even on a team as good as the Heat. ''We went into the draft process hoping that a veteran college player, someone we felt like had good college credentials, would fall down to the 29th spot,'' Pfund said. ``We got good reports all the way around on his character, and I think the overall mood up there [in the Heat draft room] was great when he fell to us. I think he's a guy that can come in and compete for a job right away or at least be a spot player for us.'' Simien, who averaged 20.3 points and 11 rebounds during his senior season, watched the draft from his hometown of Leavenworth, Kan., and said he was thrilled despite slipping in the draft. ''I was going to be pleased with any team I went to,'' Simien said. ``But going to a winning organization, a championship-contending team with two superstars and one of the most dominant players ever to play the game, you couldn't ask for a better pick.'' THE INJURIES QUESTION Simien, who measured 6-8 without shoes in his predraft workouts, likely fell to the late first round because of a history of injuries in college. Simien missed 32 games at Kansas with shoulder, knee and thumb injuries. But none of the injuries was a recurring problem, which might have convinced the Heat that Simien has been more unlucky than injury prone. Every team Simien visited before the draft -- he worked out for 16 teams -- asked him to undergo a series of physical exams. The Heat was not one of the teams Simien worked out for, but Pfund said it's a risk the team was willing to take at that stage of the draft. ''We have all the medical reports,'' Pfund said. ``He has missed some games, and I think there are some minor issues there. At 29, you have to be somewhat realistic that you're not going to get everything you want -- a perfect r?sum?. ``Certainly, the rest of his r?sum? is everything you'd like to have.'' The other knock on Simien was his height, which might have given him the dreaded ''tweener'' label. But Simien, the only player in the Big 12 Conference to average a double double, is confident his height won't be problem. 'The word `tweener' means nothing to me whatsoever,'' Simien told The Kansas City Star. ``The issues about my height, I think as hard as I play and as big as I play on the court will eliminate that.'' What the Heat should like about Simien is his ability to hit the midrange jump shot, with the potential to extend that range to 18 or 20 feet. The Heat was looking for a power forward who could open up the floor, creating more space for Shaquille O'Neal, and Simien was the player who fit that mold. Simien, who shares the same agent as Dolphins running back Ricky Williams, Leigh Steinberg, shot 55.2 percent from the field during his senior year at Kansas and shot 81.6 percent from the foul line. ''When a guys getting 20 [points] and 10 [rebounds] in the Big 12, he's got a pretty good game,'' Pfund said. ``You cold pick apart any player. The things I've noticed -- he gets over on the left block and can score down there and turn into the baseline. We've got another big fella who sets up on that left block, so we may have to relocate him.'' RAVES FROM ANALYSTS The analysts on ESPN were certainly fond of the Heat's first-round pick. ''I can't say enough about his heart and his ability to want to win,'' ESPN's Dick Vitale said. Added Greg Anthony: ``It's like getting a mid-first-round pick at the end of the first round.'' Simien was the Heat's only draft pick of the night, though Pfund said the team tried to acquire a second-round pick. ''There were still a couple of players that we liked,'' Pfund said. ``The price was a future second and over half a million dollars, and we hung in there on a couple proposals but were not able to get one of those away.''   I love everything i'm reading about this guy
June 29, 200519 yr The best value at this pick no doubt. Can shoot the mid range shot, and can really open up the floor for Shaq when they are playing together.
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