Mario Little
Overview:A versatile player who contributed mainly at the three and four positions while at KU… Was a part of three Big 12 regular-season championship teams, two Big 12 Championship teams, two Sweet 16 teams and one Elite Eight… A strong scorer with good range… Hampered with injuries his first season at KU and appeared in 23 contests in 2008-09… Had great success at ChipolaCollege (Fla.) where his teams[apos] combined record was 68-5 in two seasons… Rated as Rivals.com[apos]s No. 1 JUCO player nationally in 2008.
Senior Season (2010-11): Played in 32 games and earned one start… Scored in double digits in three games and averaged 5.1 points per game… Recorded a career-high 10 rebounds against OklahomaState (2/21) and collected 2.9 rebounds per game… Best performance came against Missouri (2/7) when he scored 17 points off 7-of-9 shooting, hit 3-of-3 from behind the arc and collected five redounds… Shot 55.8 percent from the field in conference play… Scored game-winning point from the free-throw line with .4 seconds left in the Jayhawks[apos] 77-76 win over UCLA (12/2)… Only start of the season came against Texas A&M (3/2) when he logged 15 minutes, three rebounds and one assists.
Junior Redshirt (2009-10): Participated in practice and traveled with team.
Junior Season (2008-09): Appeared in 23 games on the season with three starts, all against Big 12 competition… Posted three games in double figures and averaged 4.7 points per contest… Scored 5.6 ppg against Big 12 foes… Had a career-high three steals against Missouri (3/1)… Named the Big 12 co-Rookie of the Week on Feb. 9 for his 12.5 scoring average in wins against Baylor and OklahomaState… Had 13 points and a career-high three assists against OklahomaState (2/7)… Grabbed a career-best seven rebounds at Nebraska (1/28) in a career-high 30 minutes… Scored a career-high 15 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field against Texas A&M (1/19)… Made first career start against KansasState (1/13), scoring eight points… Saw his first action against Tennessee (1/3), logging 10 minutes with five rebounds… Was out due to a stress fracture in his right foot from mid-October until Dec. 5… Broke his left hand at practice on Dec. 16… Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.
Canada Exhibition (Fall 2008): Started in all three games in KU[apos]s 3-0 trip to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada… Led team in assists with 2.7 per game… Third in scoring with 12.7 points per game… Shot 65.2 percent from the field and averaged 4.7 rebounds, second-most on team for the three games… Came up big in the third game with a team-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting against Ottawa… Also had a team-high eight assists versus Ottawa.
Junior College: Led the Chipola Indians to their fifth-straight conference championship in 2007-08… Averaged 15.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in his second year at ChipolaCollege as the Indians posted a 35-2 record, the most victories of any JUCO team in the country… Chipola finished seventh in the 2008 NJCAA Tournament after being upset by SewardCounty in the opening round… Made 55 percent of his field goals, including 40.3 percent from three-point range… Was named both Player of the Year in the Panhandle Conference and NJCAA All-America in 2008… As a freshman he averaged 8.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists as Chipola finished with a 33-3 overall record… Helped lead Chipola to a Panhandle Conference title and second place in the NJCAA National Championship his freshman year… Received the [quote]Sixth Man Award[quote] in 2007… Chipola is located in Marianna, Fla… Coached by Greg Heiar.
High School: Averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and three blocked shots his senior year at GeorgeWashingtonHigh School in Chicago… Led the team to two conference championships, one district championship and one regional title… Named the team[apos]s most valuable player his senior year… Named Chicago area Player of the Year in 2006.
Off The Court: Full name is Mario Deantwan Little… Born in Chicago, Ill… Major is African and African American Studies… Has two older brothers, Michael, and Marcus Dixon… On the dean[apos]s list his last semester of high school… Describes himself as musical and funny… Plays the piano.
Career Honors: 2008-09: Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year… Big 12 Co-Rookie of the Week (Feb. 9).