Few days ago we spoke about the " Best Backcourt " in NCAA for this year, today I decided to write about an underrated one, the Kansas Jayhawks backcourt. You will not find them in any NBA mock draft. And most probably they will not declare for the draft before the end of their senior year.
Frank Mason III and Devonte' Graham of Kansas Jayhawks are one of my favorites backcourts and most probably the most underrated one.
They are not the most talented backcourt, they will not amaze you by their size or their athletic package, but they are so much more than an ordinary one. Kansas is one of the top 3 teams in the nation, if not the best in my opinion.
Just take a look on one of the mock draft reports, surprisingly, Kansas does not even have one first rounder, but still are the top team and the main reason for that, is their backcourt, Mason and Graham, true leaders on the courts. Let's see what each of them brings on the floor.
Just take a look on one of the mock draft reports, surprisingly, Kansas does not even have one first rounder, but still are the top team and the main reason for that, is their backcourt, Mason and Graham, true leaders on the courts. Let's see what each of them brings on the floor.
Name: Frank Mason III
Class: Junior
Position: PG
Height: 5'11
*Season stats: MPG:33.2, PER:18.4, PPG:12.8, APG:4.6, TO:1.9 , RPG:4.3
University: Kansas
Another small PG who dominates in NCAA. For the ones who read our previous article, you will see that he is a similar type of player like Ulis, but no so dominant like him.
Frank Mason, is used to live in the shadows, he was never a top prospect, more or less Kansas found it easy to recruit him and as Bill Self said 'we didn't have to fight with Kentucky or Louisville or another top program in the country, it was fairly easy to recruit him'. During his high school years he was under the radars and this is what Mason continues to do, in an even bigger stage.
He stands at 5'11, his length will not amaze you, nothing spectacular here. But you should not underestimate Masons' strength, he has a well trained body with a nice frame for his size, Mason is able to guard bigger and taller players than him. As you understand a player who stands at 5'11 has to be fast and explosive and Mason is exactly that, very good 1st step and his overall speed is very good.
Frank Mason, is a PG with a very good vision and passing abilities. Usually he likes to play in a more control tempo than you would expect. One of the biggest strength he has, is how good feeling of the time he has, very patient to set a play, reminds a lot of Ulis here. His patient game translates also to how good he can break the full court press. We have to mention that sometimes against good teams, he is struggling a bit in the full court press, especially when bigger players are on him.
Offensively Mason is a good shooter, not top but good one, he is shooting ~46% on his 2-points attempts and approximately 40% of his 3-point attempts. He prefers to drive or take a mid-range jumper than a 3-point shoot. In what excels is how good perpetrator he is, good body balance and strong upper body for his size.
Finally Mason is a top ball handler, with crafty moves, he will break many ankles in his career, great crossover moves.
Defensively, Mason is able to guard bigger and taller PG than him, his excellent frame helps him. He has active hands and he stays in front of his opponent. Considering his size he is a good defender. Moreover he is a good rebounder, he is averaging 4.3 per game.
Finally, I do not expect Frank Mason to declare for the upcoming NBA draft and I do not think would be a good idea. I expect him to finish his college career and then declare. Also I have doubts if he can make it to the NBA. I believe he would be more suited to the European style of basketball, he reminds me a bit of Omar Cook, a player who till recently was playing in the top European level.
Name: Devonte' Graham
Class: Sophomore
Position: PG
Height: 6'2
*Season stats: MPG:32.4, PER:17.3, PPG:11.4, APG:3.8, TO:1.6, RPG:3.3
University: Kansas
Graham is also a true PG like Mason, but Devonte' Graham potential is a lot higher than Mason. The last month he became the leader of the backcourt.
Devonte Graham has a good size for PG with a nice length, he definitely needs to add frame to his body. Disadvantage is his overall speed, you expect from someone at 6'2 to be more explosive, generally he brings you the feeling that he is not so good athlete, actually Graham is better than he looks. Above the average athlete but not something special. For sure far away from the NBA level of athleticism.
Graham has a good vision, but what I like, is that he will not try fancy passes or something extraordinary. He is averaging 3.8 assist per game which cannot be considered top, but remember that Mason is also a 1st pass PG.
I believe that Graham would be benefit from a more up tempo style than Kansas is playing.
Offensively Graham is a very good shooter and with many clutch shots during the season. He is a better 3-point shooter than Mason. Actually till now, he took approximately 50 3-pointers more than Mason and in less playing time. As for the 2-pointers? He took almost 100 shots less than Mason. As you can see their points per game are very close and that says everything about the advanced analytics and the value of the shots!
Generally Graham feels more comfortable with shooting the three than penetrating, but I would like to see him improving his penetration skills. Most of the times when he drives to the basket he will finish with a floater, which is a good one. But, why does he not attack the basket so often? Main reason is that he is playing next to Frank Mason and Wayne Selden, especially Selden is a great penetrator. Second reason that he does not penetrate so much, is his first step, is just good, not so explosive. Last but not least, Graham has to add some frame to his body, he is not so comfortable going to contacts and body with body.
I kept for the end the defense, Graham has a longer body than Mason and that really helps him be a better defender, Even though his body and more specific the upper body frame can be improved a lot, he can slow down the opponent guards. When he will add the required frame to his body he should be a defensive threat.
Potential speaking, Graham can make it to the NBA but he needs to work a lot and improve his athleticism, moreover he has to add frame to his body. I expect him to play at least one more season in Kansas and then he will re evaluate his decision. This season was a break out one, can he continue the improvement? Again like in Mason case, the odds are against him to make it to the NBA but has time till he graduates.
To sum up, their chemistry is amazing, no one excels in something but they are two fundamentals players. Both of them are 1st pass PG who know how to run a team and can score. They can break the full court press and they can defend in a good level. I would love to see them facing Ulis and Murray but Indiana and Ferrel had different opinion. We have to add that even though are a great backcourt, the undeniable leader of the Kansas is senior Perry Ellis.
Hope you enjoyed the report and looking forward to your comments.
Follow us on Facebook or twitter and use #hoopscouts as a hashtag.
**Please note the stats are till the game vs UCONN 19 of March
*MPG: Minutes per game, PPG: Points per game, RPG: Rebounds per game, PER: Player efficient rate, FG: Field goals.
Class: Junior
Position: PG
Height: 5'11
*Season stats: MPG:33.2, PER:18.4, PPG:12.8, APG:4.6, TO:1.9 , RPG:4.3
University: Kansas
Another small PG who dominates in NCAA. For the ones who read our previous article, you will see that he is a similar type of player like Ulis, but no so dominant like him.
Frank Mason, is used to live in the shadows, he was never a top prospect, more or less Kansas found it easy to recruit him and as Bill Self said 'we didn't have to fight with Kentucky or Louisville or another top program in the country, it was fairly easy to recruit him'. During his high school years he was under the radars and this is what Mason continues to do, in an even bigger stage.
He stands at 5'11, his length will not amaze you, nothing spectacular here. But you should not underestimate Masons' strength, he has a well trained body with a nice frame for his size, Mason is able to guard bigger and taller players than him. As you understand a player who stands at 5'11 has to be fast and explosive and Mason is exactly that, very good 1st step and his overall speed is very good.
Frank Mason, is a PG with a very good vision and passing abilities. Usually he likes to play in a more control tempo than you would expect. One of the biggest strength he has, is how good feeling of the time he has, very patient to set a play, reminds a lot of Ulis here. His patient game translates also to how good he can break the full court press. We have to mention that sometimes against good teams, he is struggling a bit in the full court press, especially when bigger players are on him.
Offensively Mason is a good shooter, not top but good one, he is shooting ~46% on his 2-points attempts and approximately 40% of his 3-point attempts. He prefers to drive or take a mid-range jumper than a 3-point shoot. In what excels is how good perpetrator he is, good body balance and strong upper body for his size.
Finally Mason is a top ball handler, with crafty moves, he will break many ankles in his career, great crossover moves.
Defensively, Mason is able to guard bigger and taller PG than him, his excellent frame helps him. He has active hands and he stays in front of his opponent. Considering his size he is a good defender. Moreover he is a good rebounder, he is averaging 4.3 per game.
Finally, I do not expect Frank Mason to declare for the upcoming NBA draft and I do not think would be a good idea. I expect him to finish his college career and then declare. Also I have doubts if he can make it to the NBA. I believe he would be more suited to the European style of basketball, he reminds me a bit of Omar Cook, a player who till recently was playing in the top European level.
Name: Devonte' Graham
Class: Sophomore
Position: PG
Height: 6'2
*Season stats: MPG:32.4, PER:17.3, PPG:11.4, APG:3.8, TO:1.6, RPG:3.3
University: Kansas
Graham is also a true PG like Mason, but Devonte' Graham potential is a lot higher than Mason. The last month he became the leader of the backcourt.
Devonte Graham has a good size for PG with a nice length, he definitely needs to add frame to his body. Disadvantage is his overall speed, you expect from someone at 6'2 to be more explosive, generally he brings you the feeling that he is not so good athlete, actually Graham is better than he looks. Above the average athlete but not something special. For sure far away from the NBA level of athleticism.
Graham has a good vision, but what I like, is that he will not try fancy passes or something extraordinary. He is averaging 3.8 assist per game which cannot be considered top, but remember that Mason is also a 1st pass PG.
I believe that Graham would be benefit from a more up tempo style than Kansas is playing.
Offensively Graham is a very good shooter and with many clutch shots during the season. He is a better 3-point shooter than Mason. Actually till now, he took approximately 50 3-pointers more than Mason and in less playing time. As for the 2-pointers? He took almost 100 shots less than Mason. As you can see their points per game are very close and that says everything about the advanced analytics and the value of the shots!
Generally Graham feels more comfortable with shooting the three than penetrating, but I would like to see him improving his penetration skills. Most of the times when he drives to the basket he will finish with a floater, which is a good one. But, why does he not attack the basket so often? Main reason is that he is playing next to Frank Mason and Wayne Selden, especially Selden is a great penetrator. Second reason that he does not penetrate so much, is his first step, is just good, not so explosive. Last but not least, Graham has to add some frame to his body, he is not so comfortable going to contacts and body with body.
I kept for the end the defense, Graham has a longer body than Mason and that really helps him be a better defender, Even though his body and more specific the upper body frame can be improved a lot, he can slow down the opponent guards. When he will add the required frame to his body he should be a defensive threat.
Potential speaking, Graham can make it to the NBA but he needs to work a lot and improve his athleticism, moreover he has to add frame to his body. I expect him to play at least one more season in Kansas and then he will re evaluate his decision. This season was a break out one, can he continue the improvement? Again like in Mason case, the odds are against him to make it to the NBA but has time till he graduates.
To sum up, their chemistry is amazing, no one excels in something but they are two fundamentals players. Both of them are 1st pass PG who know how to run a team and can score. They can break the full court press and they can defend in a good level. I would love to see them facing Ulis and Murray but Indiana and Ferrel had different opinion. We have to add that even though are a great backcourt, the undeniable leader of the Kansas is senior Perry Ellis.
Hope you enjoyed the report and looking forward to your comments.
Follow us on Facebook or twitter and use #hoopscouts as a hashtag.
**Please note the stats are till the game vs UCONN 19 of March
*MPG: Minutes per game, PPG: Points per game, RPG: Rebounds per game, PER: Player efficient rate, FG: Field goals.
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