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UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

March 6, 2017

Frank Mason III

Lawrence, Kansas

Q. Coming into the season, what were your goals compared to the actuality?
FRANK MASON III: My goals were just to be successful as a team, do whatever I can do to make sure it's successful. You know, really change it on the defensive game and get after it.

Q. What did you work on in the off-season?
FRANK MASON III: Worked on a lot of ball handling, different shooting drills, conditioning, things like that.

Q. What does the team have to do to be successful in the post season?
FRANK MASON III: They have to rebound the ball; we have to defend at a high level; we have to be coachable; we have to execute on the offensive end and make at least 80% of our free throws.

Q. When you were working on individual stuff this summer, how much of it is geared towards maybe questions that NBA people have about you? (Indiscernible.)
FRANK MASON III: Well, just working with guys who had that experience at the pro level. Learned a lot from those guys. Just took me to a lot of those pro-type workouts, and I think it really paid off.

Q. Do you think you've put yourself in a position to get to the next level?
FRANK MASON III: Haven't really been thinking about that. I've just been enjoying college and focusing on the season. I haven't been thinking about the NBA.

Q. With your team being the focus for you, when you look back to this season, do you have a favorite moment or play of yours that jumps out to you?
FRANK MASON III: Favorite moment probably would be the West Virginia game when we made the comeback.

Other than that, favorite play would probably be against Stanford the reverse layup.

Q. Most complete game?
FRANK MASON III: Most complete game? Not really sure right now. I would say Baylor. I like the way we played against Baylor. We didn't get off to a good start, but I think we played pretty good.

Q. Has it sunk in that you're name is up there in that player of the year group?
FRANK MASON III: Yeah, it's pretty cool to see my name alongside those great KU players. Means a lot to me.

Nothing would mean more than winning the National Championship game. None of this would be possible without my teammates.

Q. Looking back to freshman year, you got the chance to start a few games. Was that maybe motivation to get back to the starting spot?
FRANK MASON III: Yeah, it definitely did. As a freshman I was just in my role, and I learned a lot as a freshman. I think that really helped me out moving forward throughout my career.

Paid off for me.

Q. (No microphone.)
FRANK MASON III: Mainly learning the offense, learning exactly what Coach Self wants. Just learning how to be a leader, learning how to be a point guard.

Q. Are you a better scorer or distributor?
FRANK MASON III: Both. I could be a better scorer some nights, and some nights I could be a better distributor. I'm not really sure. I think it's a mixture of both.

Q. Coach said earlier in the year he's been giving you guys more freedom to shoot early. Do you know what he means by that?
FRANK MASON III: Yeah, definitely. You know, it's been like that all year, even a little bit last year. He trusts us a lot more and he trusts his guards to make plays early on the shot clock, and we're thankful for that. We try to take advantage of that and create easy shots for our teammates or myself.

Q. (No microphone.)
FRANK MASON III: I think it helps me because I'm probably at my best in transition. That's when we try and get out and run. Works for me, and I think it's great for our team.

Q. (Regarding Final Four.)
FRANK MASON III: Yeah, I think about it all the time. You know, it's the last go-round, and just trying to do everything we can to make it to that point. I definitely think about it all the time.

Q. Teams or players or coaches across the country in college basketball that you're not a fan of, but impressed with?
FRANK MASON III: I watch a lot of different college teams, college players. As far as teams, I would say Villanova. I like the way they play. I think they play really hard on the defensive and execute pretty well on the offensive end.

Oregon looks pretty good to me.

UCLA, they play with a nice pace, get up and down the floor.

Few other teams I really like.

Q. Is there sleeper for the tournament, a guy to keep an eye on maybe?
FRANK MASON III: Well, it's March. Anything is possible. We don't sleep on any team. We take it one game at a time and really focus in on scouting report. We can't sleep on a team because of that record.

Obviously if they're in a tournament they're a pretty good team and have a chance of doing something special.

We just want to take every game serious and focus in on scouting report and give ourselves the best chance.

Q. You've played both teams twice already. How does that help?
FRANK MASON III: I think it helps a lot on the defensive end because we know personnel. Just having faced them two different times helps us on the defensive end, what kind of action they like to run, who they like to give the ball to, and things like that.

I think this helps us a lot.

Q. New hairstyle for the post-season?
FRANK MASON III: No chance. Just messing around with my hair on Sunday just wasting time.

Q. Last year, one win from the Final Four. As you prepare for the next one, anything you can take from last year's loss to help you moving forward?
FRANK MASON III: Well, we want to win every time we step on the court, but we can learn something from every loss. I think if we do that and be coachable and get back and look at them and see the things that we can change to get better, then I think it'll really help us moving forward.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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