“It's a rivalry, even though it's alumni,” opened Frank Mason III after Friday night’s 62-55 win over Purple Reign in TBT. JHX Hoops’ win sealed them a spot in TBT quarterfinals as JHX came from down 0-1 in the series to win the final two games and move on to the next round.
While Mason scored just 9 points on a 3-12 mark from the field, he added a crucial 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Through TBT, Mason has notched 42 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists and 5 steals.
“Those guys were talking crazy before, game one, game two. Now we send them home in game three, so it means a lot to us. It's a great atmosphere, and happy we came out with the win.”
Mason’s legacy as a Jayhawk will live forever
Coming out of a loaded 2013 class, Mason was touted as the nation’s 52nd-ranked player, 11th-best point guard and 6th-best player out of Virginia.
Mason’s first three years at KU saw him profiled as a steady contributor whose 109 games had given him enough court time to continue to trek upward. However, very few ended up predicting the breakout that ensued in his senior 2016-17 season.
Mason’s final season with the Jayhawks turned into one of the best college basketball saw in the 2010s. Mason averaged 20.9 points, 5.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds, along with 1.3 steals, doing it all on a mind-boggling 49% from the field.
Mason ended up stacking virtually every individual award possible that season, including the Wooden Award, Naismith Award, AP Player of the Year, USBWA Player of the Year, NABC Division I Player of the Year and the Sporting News Player of the Year. As you can probably assume, Mason was also nominated to the AP All-American First Team.
Across his stellar four-year career, Mason went 7-2 against the Wildcats, with his best performances coming in years three and four. Mason left KU with a 91-19 record overall.
Following his exit from KU, Mason enjoyed a four-year stint in the NBA where he averaged 6.7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists over spans with the Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic.
Ever since he left the league, Mason has been plying his trade overseas in both France and China, where he has averaged 12.9 points, 4.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1 steal per game.
The 2026 TBT is the first in which Mason has participated. Mason has helped pave the way for JHX Hoops as the squad is now set to face the Aftershocks (Wichita State alumni). Last season, the Aftershocks won TBT and are returning seven players from last season’s title-winning side.
On the Aftershocks is a former KU player in Conner Frankamp. Frankamp and Mason spent their freshman year on the roster before Frankamp made the jump to the Shockers.
Last season’s JHX squad lost in round three of the tournament to Heartfire in a narrow 71-68 loss. Monday’s matchup against the Aftershocks is set for 8 p.m. CT at the Charles Koch Arena.
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