LAWRENCE — Frank Mason was the first to ascend the ladder underneath the basket after the Kansas basketball team clinched a share of its 12th consecutive regular-season Big 12 championship.
He was the first to snip a piece of the net and the first to hoist it into the air for everyone to see. The guard, whom teammate Perry Ellis would call a team leader, said he did so at head coach Bill Self’s instruction.
To hear Self tell it, though, choosing Mason had more to do with the junior’s age and experience than anything.
“Candidly, Frank probably thought it because he is our point guard,” Self said.