College basketball award recipients 2017: Kansas' Frank Mason wins John R. Wooden Award
Kansas senior guard Frank Mason III continued to dominate the college basketball postseason awards, taking home the 2017the John R. Wooden Award on Friday.
Mason, who hadalready won theAssociated Press Player of the Year award,Naismith Trophyand Oscar Robertson Trophy, accepted theBob Cousy Award for the best point guard in the NCAA and Wooden Award during Friday's College Basketball Awards show.
"This award means everything to me," Mason told ESPN. "But nothing would mean more to me than the national championship but I really appreciate this. I'm thankful to win this award and I will continue to work hard and believe in myself and work hard off the court too."
Mason beat out UCLA freshman Lonzo Ball,Josh Hartof Villanova, Caleb Swaniganof Purdue and Gonzaga'sNigel Williams-Goss for the Wooden Award.
Mason also won player of the year honors designated by Sporting News, USA Today, and CBS Sports, among others. Hewas named a unanimous first-team All-American by the NationalAssociation of Basketball Coaches and U.S. Basketball Writers Association in March.
The5-11 Petersburg, Va., nativeaveraged 20.9 points, 5.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds a game for the Big 12 regular season champions while hitting just under 50 percent of his 3-point attempts. The 2017 Big 12 Player of the Year became the only player in Kansasand conference history to average more than 20 points and five assists in the same season.
Mason, who led the Jayhawks to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, is projected to be a second-round pick in June's NBA Draft.
Washington's Kelsey Plum, who broke the NCAA single-season scoring recordthis past season, took home the women'sJohn R. Wooden Award.
Other awards on the men's side were handed out Friday include:
Bob Cousy Award(point guard): Frank Mason, Kansas
Jerry West Award (shooting guard):Malik Monk, Kentucky
Julius Erving Award (small forward):Josh Hart,Villanova
Karl Malone Award (power forward):Johnathan Motley, Baylor
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (center):Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga