Former KU guard Frank Mason III, Team USA reach semifinals of AmeriCup tournament
Former University of Kansas men’s basketball guard Frank Mason III scored three points and grabbed three rebounds in Team USA’s 85-84 victory over Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals of the AmeriCup tournament Thursday in Brazil.
Mason, a 28-year-old NBA free agent point guard who graduated from KU in 2017, hit 1 of 3 shots. He started and played 13 minutes.
It took a running 8-footer in the lane from guard Norris Cole with 1.4 seconds left to help the U.S. overcome an 84-83 deficit and advance to Saturday’s quarterfinal against Argentina.
Cole led the USA with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting including 3-of-4 from three.
Former KU guard Mason last played in the NBA as a member of the Orlando Magic in 2019-20. He is free to sign with any team. There have been rumors he could play in Greece this season for AEK Athens.
Team Ukraine, Mykhailiuk finish Group C with 3-2 mark
Former KU shooting guard Svi Mykhailiuk scored 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting as Team Ukraine fell to Croatia, 90-85, in a Group C preliminary game Thursday at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 championships in Milan, Italy.
Ukraine went 3-2 in Group C as did Croatia and Italy. Greece won Group C with a 5-0 mark. Ukraine will meet Poland in a single-elimination Round of 16 game Sunday.
Mykhailiuk, a 25-year-old NBA free agent from Cherkasy, Ukraine, has averaged 18.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in five games. He has made 42.1% of his shots, including 42.4% (14-of-33) from three.
The three-point shooting numbers come at a good time for the 6-foot-8 Mykhailiuk. He shot a career-low 30.6% from three last season in 56 games for the Toronto Raptors, who recently waived the ex-Jayhawk.. Overall he averaged 4.6 points a game in limited duty for Toronto.
Mykhailiuk, a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2018 NBA Draft, who has played for four teams (Lakers, Detroit Pistons, OKC Thunder, Toronto) in his first four years in the NBA. will be paid this year even if he doesn’t sign with a team. He exercised his $1.9 million player option with the Raptors in June.
Agbaji officially a member of Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz on Thursday officially announced the details of the trade in which they have acquired former Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Jazz acquired guards Agbaji and Collin Sexton, forward Lauri Markkanen, future first-round picks, and future first-round draft swaps from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for guard Donovan Mitchell, following the outcome of successful physicals.
“Ochai, Lauri and Collin are exciting young players and we’re thrilled to add them to our roster,” Jazz general manager Justin Zanik said in a release available at nba.com. “We believe that they fit the Jazz culture and hard-nosed, competitive brand of basketball we’ve built here in Utah. They give us versatility and athleticism on both ends of the floor as we grow toward the future. We look forward to our fans getting to know them.”
Agbaji was the overall No. 14 pick (of Cleveland) in the 2022 NBA Draft.
