Former KU basketball star Frank Mason says he wants a tryout with the Chiefs
Long before he became the national player of the year with the Kansas men’s basketball team, Frank Mason was a star hoops player at Petersburg High School in Virginia.
Basketball was always in Mason’s blood, but during his senior season at Petersburg, he caught the eye of a West Virginia Mountaineers assistant coach.
As he told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in 2017, it was a football coach.
“An assistant from West Virginia who happened to see him playing basketball told him he’d make a good cornerback. Mason didn’t play football,” the Times-Dispatch wrote.
Fortunately for the Jayhawks, Mason stuck with basketball. He joined KU ahead of the 2013-14 season and played four seasons in Lawrence. The Jayhawks were Big 12 champions each year he was with the program.
Mason was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in 2017 and played four seasons in the NBA.
But now he’d like to try his hand at football And it would be near where he found his greatest success on the hardwood.
Mason tweeted this week that he’d like a tryout with the Chiefs.
“I had an offer from West Virginia for a reason and I think I want to try out for the @Chiefs next year,” Mason wrote. “Who can help make that happen? I can make an impact on both sides of the ball, no BS!”
Mason, who is listed at 5 foot 11 and 190 pounds, will turn 29 in April, and it would be an intriguing sight to see him running around a football field.
This doesn’t appear to be some wild hair. A few weeks before he signed a contract with the Orlando Magic in February 2021, Mason tweeted about one disappointment during his days at KU.
And Mason once shared on Twitter that he might try joining the Jayhawks football team while also playing for the KU basketball team.
One can’t help but think KU basketball coach Bill Self had something to say about that idea. But it’s clear that football has been on Mason’s mind for quite some time.
Unfortunately for Mason, it appears the NFL won’t allow anyone to wear No. 0, which is what Mason donned at KU.
The Star’s Scott Chasen contributed to this story.
This story was originally published January 12, 2023 at 9:01 AM.
