In Which Frank Gets a Branding Game and Other Things
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Frank “Psi” Mason’s performance against UMKC was not just sick, to use today’s vernacular, he was acutely ill.
He was 11-14 FGs and 6-7 3PT, and 2-2 FT. The rim was the size of Jupiter–a gas giant. As usual, Frank beat or tied most of our big men in rebounding with 5. He dished 5 assists. He had 3 steals. He had 0 TOs and 0 blocks.
C’Mon, Frank, no blocks? What was the matter with you? Did you intentionally leave yourself something to improve at?
So: why do I call him Psi? Back in the 1950s, Psi was not just the 23rd letter in the Greek alphabet, or an engineering coefficient. Noooooooo. It also had another Twilight Zone definition. See definition 2 below.
psi §sī/Submit noun noun: psi; plural noun: psis 1. the twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet ( Ψ, ψ ), transliterated as ‘ps.’ ASTRONOMY the twenty-third star in a constellation. noun: Psi “Psi Aquarii” 2. supposed parapsychological or psychic faculties or phenomena. “he turns to anecdotal evidence to prove that psi exists”
Yo, Frankie, you be tapped into a spooky substrate of basketball right now. You are into deep ball. You are cruising around bending time and space like its Tesla vapors. You are standing still like a humming bird. You are like Henry Miller once he figured out how to turn the end of a sentence into a surreal unexpected ending. The words suddenly wouldn’t shut off for Henry. The stories wouldn’t quit. You are in a place where the ball just keeps coming to you. The Flow. The still point of the turning world in T.S. Eliot Ball. Enjoy it. Take notes. Map what its like down and in there. It will end sooner or later, but you can still tell us all what it was like when you surface.
Oh, and the scouts there to see Josh notice this sort of a brander.
Speaking of Josh, he decided to show everyone what 19/12 looks like from a perimeter guy. He decided that Psi is not the only KU guard that can crack double figures on the glass. SCREW DOWN THE TOs and the improvement continues.
KU IS THE LAND OF REBOUNDING GUARDS.
Devonte got his groove back. Devonte looked like, well, like Devonte. And that’s very good.
Only Lagerrie got quiet, and he seemed to be saying that is what my teammates need out here on the perimeter. They need me to just let them find themselves. He played 22 quiet minutes, but was productive nonetheless.
And then there was Svi Brickhailiuk again. 2-7 from Desoto. And yet he got two high flying dunks and cleaned 7 caroms. Not bad for an off shooting night.
So what about our composite post man? How does 22 points and 20 rebounds sound? Sounds GOOD to me.
KU beat UMKC the way they were supposed to beat a Mid Major: 105-62.
Next.
