The art of the subtweet is a tricky one, but it appears Kansas Jayhawks point guard Frank Mason has it mastered. His target? ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla of all people.
After his Jayhawks got done clinching their 15th Big 12 basketball championship, Mason had a bit of fun at the expense of the ESPN analyst via Twitter:
"6th best PG in the Big 12" but what is my team? 😴
— Frank Mason (@FrankMason0) March 1, 2016
Where did that angst come from? Apparently Mason saw a tweet from Fraschilla just a few weeks ago naming him the sixth-best point guard in the Big 12.
Best PG's in @Big12Conference: 1. Morris ISU 2. Cousins, OU 3. Taylor, UT 4. Evans, OSU 5. Medford, BU 6. Mason, KU. WVU by committee, too.
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) February 9, 2016
Best player or best team? It is the ultimate question, and Mason seemed to only help his case in the Big 12-clinching contest against Texas Tech. He finished the game with 16 points and three assists and is averaging 13.6 points and 4.6 assists per game on the season.
Ironically, Fraschilla was scheduled to do Kansas’ very next game against Texas, but the return of Holly Rowe to ESPN made the meeting of Mason and Fraschilla a moot point.
There goes any hope of doing sideline reporting tonight at Kansas-Texas game. The legendary @sportsiren is back–and we're thrilled!
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) February 29, 2016
Even though shade has been thrown back by Mason, Fraschilla is highly unlikely to stop giving his player evaluations anytime soon. After all, he’s not only an analyst for college basketball, but also one of the key members of ESPN’s team for its NBA Draft coverage.
What exactly is the lesson here? Frank Mason has a long memory and he is willing to play the long game in subtweeting too.
So, before you think to throw some shade his way…he’ll keep using it as fuel and probably find a way to subtweet you while we’re at it. After all, it’s been happening for 21 years now according to Mason.
Keep telling me what I can't do. It's been happening for 21 years now. 😂😜🤔
— Frank Mason (@FrankMason0) December 15, 2015