Mason III and KU Leading NCAAM
The Kansas Jayhawks are riding high right now at 28-3 and a nearly unanimous top spot in the AP Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll. The college basketball juggernaut owes their success in no small part to senior guard Frank Mason III. As of today, Mason has been named the Sporting News college basketball Player of the Year. With the award, he now finds himself in the company of greats; from Oscar Robertson to Pete Maravich, to Bill Walton, Patrick Ewing and Tim Duncan. As we now find ourselves neck deep in conference tourneys, Mason III is looking to make his final mark on the University of Kansas and the NCAA at large.
In 2016-17, he has averaged 20.5 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.2 rebounds a game. It has been a transformative player for Frank, who during his sophomore and junior years at KU, averaged 12.6 and 12.9 points respectively. Not to mention he’s shooting .493 from three-point land. It’s ridiculous. This season he has turned himself into an X-factor for one of the league’s top teams. And now they find themselves the undisputed top-ranked squad in the land.
At the beginning of the year no one expected Mason to come on the scene as he has. There wasn’t a single poll projecting him to fare as he has. Perhaps the only one who knew what Frank Mason could do this season was Frank Mason.
When asked what has changed for the senior guard this season, Mason said, “I would just say hard work, taking care of my body, just improving in all areas. My conditioning, ballhandling, most importantly my shooting. I think I improved my leadership skills. It was more about accepting my roles the past few years and this year, I just feel more aggressive.”
And while Mason has surely stepped into the leadership role for Kansas this year, he has by no means let it go to his head. In fact, what makes Mason so appealing as a player is his team-first mentality.
“Every interview, every time he’s ever spoken to, he never once mentions himself,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “He really means that. That is who he is, and the players all respect that so much. He gets so much attention, and all he does is try to deflect it to everybody else. He’s like the perfect teammate; not perfect by any stretch, but they know he’ll fight for them.”
Other notables on the KU roster include freshman forward Josh Jackson and junior guard Devonte’ Graham. Jackson is having a solid first year with the Jayhawks. He’s currently averaging 16.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 blocks, and 1.6 steals a game. His consistency has offered a crucial force for a team that lacks serious height in their starting lineup. Meanwhile, Graham has averaged 13.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.5 steals a game.
The duo of Frank Mason and Josh Jackson has the Jayhawks thinking Final Four right now, but that’s a long ways away right now. Not to mention Kansas suspended Jackson for the first game of the Big 12 Tournament following a traffic incident on February 2. As I write this, TCU is leading KU by one point at the half. Clearly, Jackson’s absence is being felt. The winner of this game will face Iowa State in the next round. But if Mason and Co. can pull this one out, they’ll be sitting pretty in the semi-finals with their eyes on a second-consecutive first overall seed in the NCAA tournament.
