Mason and Jackson named NABC All-America

Awards KU Postseason Awards

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas senior Frank Mason III and freshman Josh Jackson have been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-America Team, the NABC announced Friday. Mason was a first-team selection by the NABC, while Jackson is a third-team honoree.

Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, Mason and Jackson were among the 15 student-athletes named to the first, second and third NABC All-America teams. Kansas was the only school with two among the 15 student-athletes honored in 2016-17. Last year, KU’s Perry Ellis was named NABC All-America Second Team.

This is the sixth All-America first team selection for Mason in 2016-17. He has also been named All-America First Team by Sporting News, USBWA, USA TODAY, Basketball Times, Bleacher Report and NBC Sports. Jackson has also consistently been listed on All-America teams as well earning second-team honors by Sporting News, USA TODAY and NBC Sports in addition to his NABC third-team selection.

Historically, the NABC began naming All-America teams in 1946-47 and this is the seventh time in KU history that multiple Jayhawks have been named in the same season. The previous time was in 2013 with Ben McLemore (second team) and Jeff Withey (third team).

Located in Kansas City, Missouri, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Dr. F.C. “Phog” Allen, the legendary basketball coach at Kansas. Allen, a student of Dr. James A. Naismith, the inventor of basketball and Kansas’ first coach, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game.

The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men’s basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today’s student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. KU head coach Bill Self is the First Vice President of the NABC Board of Directors.

2017 NABC COACHES’ DIVISION I ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM
Lonzo Ball, UCLA, 6-6, 190, Freshman, Guard, Chino Hills, Calif.
Josh Hart, Villanova, 6-5, 215, Senior, Guard, Silver Spring, Md.
Justin Jackson, North Carolina, 6-8, 210, Junior, Forward/Guard, Tomball, Texas
FRANK MASON III, KANSAS, 5-11, 190, Senior, Guard, Petersburg, Va.
Caleb Swanigan, Purdue, 6-9, 250, Sophomore, Forward, Fort Wayne, Ind.

2017 NABC COACHES’ DIVISION I ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM
Dillon Brooks, Oregon, 6-7, 225, Junior, Forward, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Luke Kennard, Duke, 6-6, 202, Sophomore, Guard, Franklin, Ohio
Malik Monk, Kentucky, 6-3, 200, Freshman, Guard, Lepanto, Ark.
Johnathan Motley, Baylor, 6-10, 230, Junior, Forward, Houston, Texas
Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga, 6-3, 195, Junior, Guard, Happy Valley, Ore.

2017 NABC COACHES’ DIVISION I ALL-AMERICA THIRD TEAM
Markelle Fultz, Washington, 6-4, 195, Freshman, Guard, Upper Marlboro, Md.
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin, 6-10, 232, Sophomore, Forward, Milan, Ill.
JOSH JACKSON, KANSAS, Kansas, 6-8, 207, Freshman, Forward, Detroit, Mich.
Lauri Markkanen, Arizona, 7-0, 230, Freshman, Guard, Jyvaskyla, Finland
Alec Peters, Valparaiso, 6-9, 235, Senior, Forward, Washington, Ill.

Kansas NABC All-America Selections
Year-Jayhawk (team)
1951-Clyde Lovellette (1)
1952-Clyde Lovellette (1)
1957-Wilt Chamberlain (1)
1958-Wilt Chamberlain (1)
1961-Wayne Hightower (3)
1966-Walt Wesley (2)
1967-Walt Wesley (1)
1968-Jo Jo White (2)
1969-Jo Jo White (2)
1971-Dave Robisch (3)
1986-Danny Manning (2)
1987-Danny Manning (1)
1988-Danny Manning (1)
1990-Mark Randall (3)
1996-Jacque Vaughn (2)
1997-Raef LaFrentz (1), Jacque Vaughn (2)
1998-Raef LaFrentz (1), Paul Pierce (1)
2002-Drew Gooden (1), Kirk Hinrich (3)
2003-Nick Collison (1), Kirk Hinrich (3)
2005-Wayne Simien (1)
2007-Julian Wright (3)
2008-Brandon Rush (3)
2009-Sherron Collins (2)
2010-Sherron Collins (1), Cole Aldrich (2)
2011-Marcus Morris (2)
2012-Thomas Robinson (1)
2013-Ben McLemore (2), Jeff Withey (3)
2014-Andrew Wiggins (2)
2016-Perry Ellis (2)
2017-Frank Mason III (1), Josh Jackson (3)

FOLLOW
Twitter @KUHoops
Instagram @kuhoops
Facebook /KansasBasketball

KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.