Frankly, the thought of KU going to war without Frank Mason's 47% trey gun and 4.2 rpg on the perimeter frightens me.
Has any coach in the history of KU basketball ever had to replace a point guard that averaged 47% from trifecta AND 4.2 rpgs?
I don't think so.
The guy was voted player of the year for a reason.
Frank Mason went all autobot transformer last season. Each game he walked on the floor looking like a Ford Fiesta ST in silks--a tiny, ripped out, hot hatch; then, before our eyes, he would deploy into this hulking, after burner charged, cylinder gun toting set of giant gears and struts with a chunk of All Spark at the center and he would go whirling and crashing down the floor 10 times his size wreaking havoc for all Jayhawk Land and all the little guys, too. It was like Self had hired Michael Bay as an assistant coach of point guards and he cut loose a barrage of special effects with Frank.
Autobots, unite!!!!!
His absence leaves a bigger hole in Allen Field House than the All Spark left, when it was flung out of Cybertron, or than those evil sunnsabitches have left in Transformers: The Last Knight, by turning Optimus Prime, the greatest cybernetic hero in the history of film, into a lousy villain, because some limp phallus screen writer could not keep believing in what every kid needs and deserves--an awesome kick ass, digitally rendered demigod inside a red, white and blue diesel tractor. Ah, I digress.
The point of the post is just to say we've got to move the high percentage cylinder gun to a 2- guard wing this year and that wing has got to get Optimus Frank's 4.2 caroms caroms, while Devonte repeats his three rpgs from the point (not a walk in the park), Josh's 7.4 gets picked up by 6-9 Billy Preston and Landen's 8.3 rpgs gets ramped to 10 rpgs by Doke.
But the real key is the 47% trey gun. Svi and Devonte can repeat their respective 40% and 39% from trey with any luck. Preston ought to come close to Josh's 39, from what I hear, probably more like 36-37%. And that "probably more like" put extra importance on what the 2-guard wing shoots.
I know, we can be much more productive offensively down low with Doke and Preston cramming it down low.
But in today's game, it appears someone has to have one of those insanely high 3pt percentages for a season to make a team really dangerous.
To wit: KU should contact former Kansan, D-CIA Mike Pompeo, for a special favor for the old home state. Someone should ask him to see what he can do about getting some of his tech wizards to get a rumored directed energy technology capable of broadcasting certain bandwidths into human targets to remotely hyp-MO-tize subjects to follow suggestions. The endlessly repeated message would be something simple, like...
"Malik Newman, Please Report to the Three Point Line, Malik Newman, You Are Wanted at the Three Point Line to Make 47%."
Call it Operation All Spark '18, or something slightly more cryptic, like Operation Treywood.
It would play in his head all night long starting now and be repeated through April of 2018.
Voila!
KU celebrates a ring.
