The Mason Bulls-Eye
-
Heading into the season, what was the biggest question about Kansas basketball?
When Mason was signed, the truth was the same as it is now – he was the back up, to the back up, to the back up plan. And even more than that.
Self pursued Andrew Harrison, Kasey Hill, Anthony Barber, Demetrius Jackson, and Rysheed Jordan full bore. All were misses. Just before Mason signed, Self got involved with Roddy Peters but it was too late. Mason then visited and signed.
Frankamp committed prior to Mason. He was listed as a point guard, and got some minutes there last season. A large contingent favored CF taking over this season. He has now left the program.
Only the “everything is great in Kansas land” voices were happy when Mason signed. Coach Self had to know something the rating services and everyone else did not. The rest of the world was skeptical if not downright unhappy.
Well, this was pretty close to perfect.
But we know this was not coach Self seeking out a lower ranked guy, and choosing him over other higher ranked guys because he knew more than the rating services. That was obvious. But Self gets all the credit for signing the guy.
The numbers don’t lie. Mason compares favorably to all of the other guys. Is there any other 2013 point guard that you would, definitively, take over Mason?
Here are the numbers:
Points/Rebounds/Assists/Steals/FT%/3 Pt %
-
Mason - 12.6/3.7/4.1/1.4/80.3/41.9
-
Harrison - 8.8/2.2/3.8/1.0/78.7/36.5
-
Hill - 7.3/2.4/4.6/1.0/53.8/27.6
-
Barber - 11.8/3.3/3.8/0.9/70.9/39.2
-
Jordan - 14.1/3.7/3.2/1.7/66.0/36.9
-
Jackson - 12.5/3.8/2.8/1.6/74.7/42.5
-
Peters - Redshirt
-
Frankamp - Redshirt
I’ve always wondered when we might get our Trey Burke – the guy that shocks the world and turns into an all-american. We might have that guy.
Better yet, we have a four year player. There is no reason to suspect that the last two seasons of his career at Kansas won’t exceed the first two. And that bodes well for national title pursuits.
Don’t get me wrong. Mason isn’t perfect. His ability to create and dish is still limited, he gets too focused on the hoop when on a fast break, and he still has some head scratching moments when he penetrates. But no player is perfect.
Offer me any college point guard, straight up, for Mason right now? No thanks. Dangle the next OAD? I’ll pass. Mason’s the complete package. Room to improve, tenacity, ball handling, scoring, experience in the system, and a four year guy. I’ll stick with Mason – a bulls-eye recruit if there ever was one. Mason gives this program the best opportunity to win a national title in the next two seasons. That’s a good spot to be in at the point guard position. What a difference a year makes.
-
-
@HighEliteMajor isn’t it ironic that the two lowest ranked guys in the last two classes are going to be the most valuable this year and throughout their career at Kansas. What a turn around from No-rank Frank to MVP
-
Wasn’t it Townsend that found him while scouting Mclaughlin who’s a freshman at USC this year, another PG we missed out on. Regardless his improvement has been remarkable and he deserves all the praise he gets. He has PG skills still to work on but that’s what the next 2 years will provide him the opportunity to do. And it allows Graham a great role model to learn and grow with. I think our PG duties are in the best hands the next few years. Next year we can focus on signing one we can groom up for the future.
Mason deserved first team but sometimes the politics of the polls don’t give you the best player over the course of the year. I think we can all be happy he didn’t end up at Towson.
-
@HighEliteMajor 100% agree. Another such find is Devonte Graham. We can see it already. 40+% trey gun, 6’2 size, aggressive cojones, almost something a “baller” has, or he doesn’t. And, this is good for Selden. Self’s stuff is best served by do-it-all, tenacious, athletic types…as we know the menu aint changin’…
-
Nice job of putting Frank in context!!!
Question: he is performing so well, won’t the NBA take him early, say end of next season?
-
I will break down and say it… I LOVE FRANK!
…and Devonte is going to be a keeper, too!
