KU notebook: Massanutten Military Academy retires Frank Mason’s jersey

Kansas senior Frank Mason had his Massanutten Military Academy jersey No. 3 retired in a ceremony Friday night at the Woodstock, Va., prep school.

Mason, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Petersburg, Va., attended the ceremony — one in which his prep school jersey was placed in a huge glass frame.

“It’s a great experience to come back here,” Mason, who spent the 2012-13 season at the prep school after failing to qualify for a scholarship at Towson, told Richmond, Va., TV stations WTVR and WRIC.

“So many great things happened over the years for me. This is a place I always try to come back to. I’m very blessed. I used to get emotional about it. Now that I look back on it, it (his year at Massanutten) helped me become more responsible and become more a man.”

Massanutten coach Chad Myers recently told the Northern Virginia Daily: “Obviously we’re all proud of him. He worked extremely hard. He put in the time. He deserved it, but it’s almost like it’s one of those things (where) you want to wake up and say, ‘Is it really true?’

“He’s obviously very thankful. I think he realizes how special it is and where he came from, obviously having a chance to do this,” Myers added of Mason winning the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award and other national awards after his senior season.

“As a coach it’s rewarding to see him kind of grow up, not only as a player but as an adult and the different things he’s got in life right now — he’s got to go accept awards and go to banquets and hopefully get a chance to get drafted and all that kind of stuff. It’s exciting.”

Petersburg High School recently honored Mason by placing a huge banner of congratulations outside the school.

KU pursues point guard Duke

Members of KU’s coaching staff joined coaches from Syracuse, VCU, Providence, Virginia Tech, Creighton, Villanova, Cincinnati, Northwestern, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Florida and others last weekend at adidas Gauntlet AAU games of blue-chip junior point guard David Duke.

The 6-foot-4 Duke of Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Mass., has been offered a scholarship by KU, Rivals.com’s Eric Bossi reported from Fort Worth, Texas — site of the event.

“Duke has the look of a guy who will be tough to pull out of the northeast but Kansas has made some headway if they want to turn the heat up on him,” Bossi wrote at Rivalshoops.com.

Of the performance of Duke, Rivals.com’s No. 50-rated player in the recruiting class of 2018, Bossi stated: “A big, strong and tough guard with athleticism, Duke proved to have legitimate lead-guard skills. His jumper is just fair right now but he’s awfully tough to keep out of the lane.”

In late January, Duke, who is originally from Providence, R.I., noted to Rivals.com that, “Kansas talks to me every game day.”

Grimes scores 22 at event

Blue-chip combo guard Quintin Grimes — who had an off day on Friday in a matchup against point-guard deluxe Immanuel Quickley — had a near triple-double Saturday in front of coaches from Kansas and other colleges at the adidas Gauntlet event.

Grimes a 6-5 junior combo guard from College Park High School in The Woodlands, Texas, scored 23 points with 12 rebounds and six assists in his Basketball University squad’s win over Ohio Basketball Club.

Grimes, who is ranked No. 12 in the class of 2018 by Rivals.com, scored six points with six rebounds and three assists in a Friday loss to Quickley’s BBC team. Quickley, a 6-4 junior from John Carroll High in Bel Air, Md., who is ranked No. 15 in the class of 2018, had 22 points in the game featuring two top-15-rated guards.

Grimes has scholarship offers from KU, Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Florida, Arizona, Marquette and several others. Arizona, Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Marquette last week conducted in-home visits.

“Marquette and Baylor and Texas A&M kind of stood out,” Grimes told Rivals.com. “They had a really thorough presentation and showed me that I’m a really big priority for them.”

He said he would probably cut his list “toward the end of June or July. I’m kind of enjoying it and seeing who is contacting me and making me a priority.”

KU watches Reid, Quinerly

KU coaches and ones from Kentucky, North Carolina, Maryland, Louisville, St. John’s, Rutgers and Seton Hall were on hand Saturday at the Under Armour Association Circuit Event at Basketball City in New York watching Naz Reid and Jahvon Quinerly play for Sports U AAU.

Quinerly, a 6-foot junior point guard from Hudson Catholic in Hackensack, N.J., ranked No. 26 in the class of 2018, has received offers from KU, Arizona, Villanova, Syracuse, Virginia, Maryland, Seton Hall, Notre Dame, Stanford and Cal. Virginia, Villanova and Stanford may be the leaders.

“Physically, he looks like a lot like former UNC star Marcus Paige. The more you watch him play, the more he feeds into that comparison. He’s a very poised floor general, makes good decisions with the ball, and can score in bunches when called upon. He made several big plays for Sports U. down the stretch in the win over Florida Vipers,” writes Dan McDonald of Rivals.com.

Reid, a 6-9 junior from Roselle Catholic in Asbury Park, N.J., is ranked No. 14 nationally by Rivals.com.

Maryland is definitely one of his favorites.

“They’ve been here since freshman year,” he said of the Terps, coached by former KU guard Mark Turgeon. North Carolina, Kentucky and KU are also reportedly high on his list.

This story was originally published April 23, 2017 at 10:23 PM with the headline "KU notebook: Massanutten Military Academy retires Frank Mason’s jersey."