Frank an NBA All star?
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College and the NBA are two completely different stages and being great on one does not necessarily means it will translate to the next level.
I have mentioned Isaiah Thomas several times in relation to Mason and how teams should pay attention and consider Mason potential and how he can be a better version of Isaiah Thomas.
Having said that, Thomas was drafted with the very last pick of the draft.
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Barring serious injury, Frank is going to prove his worth, wherever he should be hired to play. If sent initially to the Gatorade League he will soon work his way back to the NBA. And if all two dozen or so NBA general managers take a pass on him, he will star in some European or Asian League, most likely. The kid is too steady and determined not to play effectively wherever he should be hired or assigned. I predict good things for our graduating point guard. Hope he banks and wisely husbands several million dollars before departing professional play. I see him becoming just as prominent as highly successful Keith Langford; perhaps much more so.
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It’s hard to predict what a guy Frank’s size will do at the next level. He could be Isaiah Thomas or DJ Augustin. It’s a tough leap because of the athleticism difference between college and the NBA.
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Here is another 2 cents I will pitch into the pot regarding Frank Mason’s future. Along with Aaron Miles I think Frank is the type of future assistant coach whom a Joe Dooley or Bill Self would love to bring aboard on a staff if an opening should pop up at an opportune time.
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@REHawk one can hope. I do think it would be really good for Frank to check out the world for a few years abroad if NBA doesn’t happen, before coming back. From small town PBurg to Lawrence, it’s a big world out there. At this point he might try to suit up and get on the court if the freshman punks don’t listen.
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2nd round pick, is my guess. Around the middle… However I think he should be a late first rounder.
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I think Frank Mason could be president of the United States.
Wait, I guess that’s not as prestigious as it used to be.
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Another first for Frank? First Naismith player of the year to not get drafted in the first round?
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Frank is smiling right now! Yes… Frank is smiling because he has the very best shot possible now. Why?
If you don’t follow NBA, just google “Isaiah Thomas.”
He had 53 points in Game 2 against Washington and he single-handedly brought back Boston, sent it to OT where he finished off Washington.
Isaiah Thomas is only 5’9" tall.
Yes… Frank has a legitimate chance. The first thing is for him to get drafted… hopefully high enough to where he gets a solid look and maybe even a guaranteed contract.
Thank you, Isaiah!
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I agree. I have mentioned repeatedly that Isaiah Thomas is the right comparison fro Frank and Frank might actually be better. The better Thomas does the more it helps Mason.
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@drgnslayr for real. If IT can be an All Star, so can Frank.
Frank’s bigger stronger tougher. Franks a tank.
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Seth Greenberg thinks Mason will make it to the NBA and will be a starter.
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I’m pulling for Frank harder then any KU player that’s gone onto the draft. He must do well this week in the Combine and I can’t imagine he’s going to disappoint in a setting where he’s in a show and prove situation. As a PG and a scoring assassin he’s got an advantage going into this process. I really hope he makes it in the league
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Losing Frank to graduation still hitting me hard, even slightly more than losing in the Elite8. Yes KU ball will soldier on. But without one of the best warriors to ever put on the Crimson&Blue.
KU bball gets a yearly decent chance at a Final Four. But finds like Frank, regardless of ranking, just dont come along every year. Devonte has some SHOES to fill.
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No doubt that Frank Mason and Perry Ellis are two of my all time favorite KU players; they represent everything that is good about college sports.
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Devonte can’t and shouldn’t try to be Frank Mason. He just needs to be the best Devonte Graham he can.
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That’s a pretty tall order (no pun intended). Isaiah Thomas played three years at Washington and never averaged less than 15 points per game. Nobody saw Thomas becoming what he has become, but everyone could imagine, even as a freshman, that he could become a big time scorer off the bench leading a solid second unit.
Frank has been a bit later to really blossom into that type of player. He could certainly become that type of guy, but it is extremely rare for a player that size to excel as a scorer or player.
In the NBA, they use PER as a stat to evaluate. 15 is considered league average. Here are the players in the NBA this year under 6 feet tall that had a per higher than 10:
- Chris Paul - 26.2
- Kyle Lowry - 22.1
- Isaiah Thomas - 21.5
- Darren Collison - 15.9
- J.J. Barea - 15.4
- Ish Smith - 14.9
- DJ Augustin - 13.9
- Aaron Brooks - 11.8
- Isaiah Canaan - 11.1
That’s 9 guys in the whole league that were above 10. Only 5 guys shorter than 6 feet are better than average. It is incredibly difficult to become more than a backup level player in the NBA at under 6 feet tall. You have three all star level players, 4 good backups, and then several okay to mediocre backups.
I think Frank can play in the NBA, but I think there’s a better chance he becomes a Darren Collison/DJ Augustin type player than becoming Isaiah Thomas or Kyle Lowry. I worry that if he tries to be an Isaiah Thomas type, he may wash out of the league before he gets a chance to shine.
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Frank’s PER was 25.5 this season which is pretty darn good. His jump from Jr to Sr year was 7.4…Obviously its an entirely different game going to the NBA but do you think his PER translates to the league if his development from where he is now can continue to move forward?
Isaiah Thomas had a PER of 22.1 in his final yr at Washington on similar usage as Mason. I would have included the others but I did not find any data for them…
I know numbers can tell some of the story but its always a crapshoot to know what drives a player to be All-Star good, like Thomas who’s ascended to become what he is through a lot of work and dedication to his craft.
When looking at Frank Mason I think there is a lot of qualities that say he’s not going to fail at this. His competitiveness and work ethic are what got him where he is now, which is a chance at the NBA. I know we all love Frank and we might have some bias projecting his future in the league but everything we know about Frank points to a player that will work tirelessly until he makes it
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Interesting numbers. The question is how many players under 6 feet are there in he NBA? How does the percentage of players under 6 feet with high PER compare with other heights? I will guess that the percentage is higher indicating that players under 6 feet that make it to the League will generally be higher performers because only the elite players under 6 feet make it to the League.
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The college PER doesn’t necessarily translate. It’s doubtful that Frank gets 4 rebounds a game in the NBA. Also doubtful he shoots 47% from three (I still think he shoots above 40%, but 47% is elite level stuff).
The other challenge is how he handles guarding the John Wall’s, Russell Westbrook’s, etc in the League. Offense isn’t always the difficulty for smaller guards. Often, it’s the defensive end, where they are constantly being isolated and attacked, particularly in the post (see how Washington has posted up whomever Thomas is guarding). The NBA posts up guards in ways that college does not. That’s what makes it very difficult for smaller guys to succeed. They have to be able to be effective offensively and stand up to the attacks in the post. Thomas gets attacked regularly in the post, but he is so good offensively that he makes it less important.
Can Frank be that good offensively? If not, he will see his minutes dwindle, similar to guys like Augustin, Collison and Jameer Nelson.
Second, can Frank be efficient offensively when being guarded by bigger guys. One of the difficulties of the NBA is that guys don’t help as much as in college. They help only to (or from) certain guys within their defensive scheme. In college, you help as part of the regular rotation, regardless of who you are guarding. In the pros, if you are guarding a good shooter, you stay home and the rotation changes. That leads to fewer open looks (which is why sometimes guys that were very effective in college see their shooting numbers plummet in the pros). There are more capable shotblockers at more positions, so every game turns into having Jordan Bell in the paint because literally every NBA team has a guy like Jordan Bell.
Can Frank be efficient at his size despite that? That’s a question that he has to answer in real time. Remember, Isaiah Thomas gets his shot blocked more than any other player in the league. He’s able to be efficient because he shoots so well from three and knows how to get free to finish despite getting so many shots blocked. Can Frank do the same?
I think he has the work ethic to do so, but that doesn’t cover the ground between being effective and being an All-Star.
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All good points, he’s got a battle on his hands. I’m not projecting him to be an NBA All-Star (if he does that would only add to his incredible rise) but I’m optimistic he finds a role in the NBA and has some success.
Defense will definitely be his biggest initial struggle if he ends up in someone’s rotation. I’m not worried about him finding ways to score because he is IMO one of the top 5 scorers going into the draft. We’ll see what happens, I know a lot of KU fans will be watching to see where he ends up and how he translates to the league
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@justanotherfan I think Frank’s gonna be Frank. We’ve all seen how driven and tough he is. All I’m saying is if Thomas can do it, so can Frank. You’re right, it is a very long shot for him to reach all star status. But I have faith in #BIFM
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I will grant this much - Frank Mason was rated higher coming out of HS than Isaiah Thomas was. Thomas wasn’t even a top 150 recruit. He wasn’t a top 40 PG. Frank was both of those things. So in that, I suppose Frank really can look to Isaiah Thomas for motivation - he wasn’t supposed to make it, either.
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My concern about Frank in the nba is he may already be near his ceiling. Effort won’t be an issue for him, it’s physical limitations.
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Frank is very athletic and likely more athletics than many taller players. He indicated that he has been measured at 5’-11-3/4" without shoes; this is taller than what I/we thought his height was. At KU he was listed at 5’-11" and we know that KU adds a little height to players.
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Frank Mason will impress them (all) like only Frank Mason can…
