How is Frank Mason III not on the list of the nation’s most valuable point guards?  The Bob Cousy Award watch list includes thirty-six guards.  I would argue no other player is more important to a top 25 ranked team’s success, let alone a point guard, than Mason is to Kansas basketball.

Since Kansas freshman Devonte Graham went out a couple weeks ago with injury, coach Bill Self has relied on Mason even more.  Since Devonte Graham’s injury, Mason has played all but 28 minutes in six games.  That includes resting for 12 minutes against a far inferior Lafayette team.

Mason Jr., a sophmore, averages 11.9 points and 4 assists per game.  Compare that to Kasey Hill of Florida’s 7.7 points and 4.4 assists per game or Tyler Ulis’s 5.8 points and 3.7 assists per.

Today Frank Mason III led his Jayhawks in scoring against a feisty UNLV club in a Kansas win.  He scored 18 points, dished 7 assists, grabbed 4 rebounds and helped himself to 4 steals.  This very rare photo below showcases the two minute period in which Wayne Selden Jr. and Kelly Oubre Jr. alternated a possession running point guard.  It was the only sequence in which Mason Jr. did not control his offense.