The No. 1-ranked Kansas Jayhawks survived a scare from the Oklahoma Sooners on Monday night, rallying to win 73-63 at Allen Fieldhouse. The game was also Senior Night for the Jayhawks, and senior guard Frank Mason III led the way with 23 points and six assists.
It was a very emotional night for Mason, and not just because it was his final game at Allen Fieldhouse. What meant even more to the Jayhawks’ star guard, was that it was his son’s first game watching him play from the stands.
And Mason addressed his five-year-old son, Amari, with a speech that will melt your heart:
My son’s here. This is his first game that he’s ever been to, so I’m happy to have him here. He’s shy, just like me.
But yeah, I’m happy to have him here. You mean the world to me, and everything I do is for you. I want you to grow up having a better life than I had. You really help me to become a better man and a better father everyday. I love you.
Dad did a fantastic job with that speech, and he’s been every bit as good with his play on the basketball court all season.
Mason — averaging 20.3 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game — is considered by many experts to be the frontrunner for National Player of the Year. And after Monday night’s game, Kansas head coach Bill Self called Mason “the best guard [he’s] ever coached”:
“I don’t think there’s been any player tougher than Frank Mason,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said in the moments after the game, when he introduced Mason for his going-away speech. “Best guard I’ve ever coached.”
[ESPN; USA Today]
