By now, you all know the story of former Kansas standout Frank Mason III.
From how his rough upbringing to his failed government class to that showcase in Vegas where assistant coach Kurtis Townsend first saw him and, of course, through his incredible KU career that left him in the Top 10 on KU’s all-time scoring list and was capped by the point guard doing something no other Jayhawk in history had done — sweeping the national player of the year honors during the 2016-17 season.
Although stoic by nature, Mason has more personality than most realize and, throughout his sensational senior season, was able to show more and more of that as the weeks went on.
You also know the special relationship that exists between KU coach Bill Self and Mason. From player-coach to father-figure and friend, the two developed a unique bond during the past four years that at times moved each to tears and will no doubt last a lifetime.
So there’s not a whole lot of new information about the Mason-Self dynamic that can be learned. I’m sure there are stories for days that could be told but probably won’t be. At least not publicly. And I’m sure each guy remembers the journey a little differently, mostly thanks to the differing perspectives, one of a college-aged basketball player doing everything in his power to stay on the climb and the other of a wildly successful coach 30 years his senior.
But there’s something cool about all of that — the early years, the Kansas years, the wins, the relationship with coach — in this [Players’ Tribune article penned by Mason][1] and released Thursday.
Some of these are short but Mason goes deep in this one. He takes you all the way back to his youth and the good and the bad of all of it. He talks Kansas and Self and being a father and the NBA, but more than anything his story, in his words, titled, “Goodbye, Kansas,” shows, in a short and sweet, 1,500-word manner the maturation process and incredible road Mason has traveled these past few years.
> “It didn’t end how I wanted — after the
> Oregon loss, I tweeted that it felt
> like my life was over–and, man, it’s
> still hard to shake that feeling of
> disappointment. Sitting back in the
> locker room, where guys were crying
> and feeling terrible, I had no choice
> but to focus on the positives and on
> what’s next. Graduation. The
> opportunity to give my son a better
> life than I had growing up. I thought
> about how far I’d come, from being a
> guy who couldn’t qualify to play at
> Towson to the Wooden National Player
> of the Year at one of the best
> programs in the country.”
[1]: https://theplayerstribune.com/frank-mason-goodbye-kansas-jayhawks/
