Bill Self’s favorite play, and how Frank Mason makes it work

Kansas guard Frank Mason is good. You probably know this. And you likely had figured it out before his 30-point performance in Friday’s 103-99 overtime loss to Indiana.

But do you know how he’s good? Again, I’m guessing you can make assumptions on that. KU coach Bill Self calls him the most athletic player on the team. He’s quick off the dribble and also has developed into a strong three-point shooter.

But it goes deeper than that. Mason, as you’re about to see, is a good decision-maker. We talk all the time about quarterbacks making reads to put their teams in position to succeed, yet we rarely do that for Mason or other point guards.

Mason is Self’s quarterback. And you can tell that based on the coach’s play-calling late in Friday’s game.

I usually make a habit to take notes of what KU is running during a game. Something stood out after this one: Self called his “5 Up” play nine times, including five times in the game’s final seven minutes and thrice in overtime.

Mason was the key to the play, and interestingly, it worked in a different way than it did a season ago.

Let’s start with last year. Here’s “5 Up,” which is basically the 5 man setting a high ball screen for the point guard, with the other three players spacing the floor.

As you probably recall, Jamari Traylor was a strong driver to his right, and this configuration was meant to get him the ball in a position so he could do that.

This particular lineup and call, though, wasn’t a perfect playmaking option for Mason, as the lane is clogged with Perry Ellis’ defender.

Mason is great off the dribble, but I think we’d all agree 1-on-3 isn’t exactly fair. Here, he passes to Traylor so he can create, but it does leave you wondering what would happen if Ellis’ defender wasn’t there.

Enter Friday night’s game against Indiana — and Self’s first regular-season game of “small ball.”

Here’s how “5 Up” looks with KU’s four-guard lineup.

Well, that certainly changes things. With a floor-spacing shooter taking attention to the perimeter, the red circle no longer is filled with an extra defender Mason must avoid on potential drives to the rim.

From here, Mason must make quick choices based on how teams defend him. Because he’s such a versatile player (and can drive, pass and shoot from the outside), his best option on each possession is going to determined on the look he gets.

So let’s play, “You are Frank Mason.” Here’s some screenshots from the Indiana game after the guard gets his high ball screen from Landen Lucas.

What would you do? Drive, shoot or pass?

Indiana’s Josh Newkirk (No. 2) goes under the ball screen, and Thomas Bryant (No. 31) sags to the lane to respect Mason’s driving ability.

The choice here is correct. Mason sets his feet and puts up an open three*. It misses, but I can’t imagine Indiana coach Tom Crean is OK allowing a career 38-percent three-point shooter a look like this.

OK, next one. You are Frank Mason.

Lucas sets a nice screen to clear Juwan Morgan (No. 13), and after allowing the earlier open three, Bryant comes out further to respect the outside shot.

Mason immediately makes the right call to attack the big man on the drive, knowing he should be able to beat Bryant in space.

He does, using great body control at the end to lean into Bryant to prevent him from extending for a block. Layup made. Foul called. Big play for KU.

You can already see how this be an issue for defenses, as Mason’s likely to end up with either an open look or a mismatch if he’s able to see the floor correctly.

What to do here? Probably could go either way, but Mason chooses to attack Morgan and draws a foul and two free throws.

And as you might guess, Indiana also tried to bring more help in certain circumstances. It’s here where Mason and KU could begin to counter in the future.

On this one, we see Svi Mykhailiuk’s defender Morgan (No. 13) commit to Mason as he goes by. Mason gets a decent attempt at the rim, but a future (and perhaps better) option would be to kick back to Mykhailiuk for what should be an open three.

After getting into driving mode, Mason also appears to miss out on an opportunity for an open three here when De’Ron Davis (No. 20) backs way off in the paint. Mason still gets it to Mykhailiuk, who gains an advantage on the drive while helped by the attention his teammate received.

Mason isn’t perfect on his decisions. No one can be.

But this certainly was an encouraging opening effort with KU’s new four-guard, “5 Up.”

If the Jayhawks continue to go small — dragging that extra defender away from the rim — we likely need to adjust Mason’s scoring expectations accordingly.

Thirty points won’t happen every night. But a 20-point average probably isn’t out of the question, especially if Self continues to trust his quarterback to make these ball-screen audibles on the fly.

This story was originally published November 13, 2016 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Bill Self’s favorite play, and how Frank Mason makes it work."