Loss of Simien Unified Kansas

The buzzards began circling the Kansas camp when power forward Wayne Simien went down with a dislocated right shoulder 12 games into the season.

Then after he was declared out for the season, the Jayhawks were widely perceived as too soft, and not deep enough to make a legitimate run at a national championship.

That was all before Jeff Graves, a 6-foot-9, 275-pound junior college transfer, shored up the Kansas interior, giving the Jayhawks an unexpected inside presence to complement Nick Collison. Graves’ contributions have them on the verge of their first title since 1988.

“I knew what I was capable of doing but it was almost like with [Simien], we took different teams for granted, but we also had more options,” said Graves, who has averaged 7.2 points and 8.4 rebounds in the tournament.

“When we lost him ... it was like it unified us.... It gave us an opportunity to see the light, almost like a blessing in disguise.”

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Syracuse forward Carmelo Anthony lit up Texas for a career-high 33 points, a Final Four record for a freshman, and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds Saturday, leading the Orangemen to a 95-84 victory in the national semifinals.

So how would he guard himself?

“I would just play me straight up,” he said with a grin, “and hope I miss shots.”

Anthony, though, was miffed at the perception that Kansas is the prohibitive favorite to win its third national championship tonight because of its senior leadership, history and tradition.

“They put their uniforms and shoes on the same way we do,” he said.

Anthony contemplated jumping straight to the NBA out of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia last summer and has had such a good time in his first (and only?) season at Syracuse that he endorses high school players trying college ... for at least a year.

“I would hope they see what I’m doing and take heed,” he said. “But they’ve got to go with their heart.”

So will he flag down his friend LeBron James in his Hummer and have a heart-to-heart with the likely No. 1 draft pick?

“I wouldn’t even waste my time talking to him,” Anthony said. “There’s no chance he would come to school.”

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Playing for the U.S. in the 1998 junior world championships in the Dominican Republic, Collison shared an anxious four-hour cab ride with Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim, who was coaching the team.

“It was horrible,” said Collison, who was a high school junior at the time. “We got lost and the cab driver didn’t speak English and [Boeheim] was just yelling at the guy, cussing him out.”

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If Kansas wins tonight, no one can say the Jayhawks backed into the title. Not with tournament wins over Duke and Arizona in Anaheim.

“When you beat teams like that, you gain confidence, especially when people don’t think you can,” said Kansas senior guard Kirk Hinrich. “I think this team learned a lot about itself by winning the West Region.”

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Collison has a theory about why Kansas Coach Roy Williams hasn’t put to rest rumors that he may leave to coach North Carolina, his alma mater.

“Me and Kirk [Hinrich] know Coach a lot better and we think he’s trying to do the right thing and not disrespect North Carolina, especially if they haven’t even talked to him,” Collison said.