NCAA: Frank Mason 2nd Leading Scorer at Moses Malone’s High School

Photo: Phil Roeder from Des Moines, IA, USA (NCAA Basketball) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Frank Mason III is quicker than Sunday mass in a resort town, to borrow a line from the late basketball sage Al McGuire. The Kansas point guard can get from the top of the key to the the hoop faster than anybody this side of Kyrie Irving. And he’ll be playing Irving next year, too, because a surer NBA prospect than Mason you might never see. Mason is an atypical potential No. 1 NBA draft pick these days too — he’s a senior at Kansas when one-and-done has become the norm for the elite players.

This year’s Big 12 Player of the Year, Mason hails from Petersburg, Virginia — coming out of Petersburg High School (by way of Massanutten Military Academy). Old school hoop fans heard announcers say “from Petersburg High School in Virginia” 1,455 times — because that’s how many games the late NBA legend Moses Malone played professionally after leaving high school and heading directly to the pro ranks. Before every game, announcers shouted out a litany of colleges with Malone’s St. Petersburg usually the sole high school mentioned. It always reminded people that Malone was that special — straight to the show. Malone remains the all-time leading scorer at Petersburg High School, where Mason is second with more than 1,900 points. They’ll announce Mason’s name a whole bunch in the NBA too, mentioning only Kansas of course. But he and Malone share a special Virginia bond.

My heart saddens once more, Moses Malone passes away at 60, way too soon.. Thoughts n prayer to the family.. #FoFoFo pic.twitter.com/I7nK2VCY3f

— Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) September 13, 2015