Now in NBA, former Jayhawk players Oubre, Mason attend protests in Phoenix, Milwaukee
Former University of Kansas forward Kelly Oubre of the Phoenix Suns on Friday participated in a protest in reaction to the death of George Floyd, a black man who died May 25 when he was pinned to the pavement by a white Minneapolis police officer.
The officer has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Azcentral.com reported that the 24-year-old Oubre, who played for KU during the 2014-15 season before heading to the NBA, held a sign that read, “I’m here for 911 reasons. My soul has no skin.”
The 6-foot-7 Oubre also wrote a caption on his Instagram account picture that read: “I’m here for ...... CHANGE. #CantShhhh.”
Phoenix is one of many cities that has had numerous protests in reaction to the killing of Floyd and call for the end of racism in America. Phoenix residents also have been marching in reaction to the death of 28-year-old Dion Johnson, who according to Azcentral.com, “died after being shot in Phoenix by an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper on Memorial Day.”
Oubre, who has played for Washington and Phoenix in a five-year NBA career, according to Suns owner Robert Sarver will be available to play when the NBA season resumes in July in Orlando, Florida. Oubre, who has averaged 18.7 points and 6.4 rebounds in 56 games this season, had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee on March 3. The season was suspended on March 12 because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Mason joins teammates at rally
Former KU guard/2017 consensus national player of the year Frank Mason joined several of his Milwaukee Bucks teammates Saturday at a protest in Milwaukee.
Bucks who attended included Mason, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Sterling Brown, Donte DiVincenzo, Brook Lopez and Thanasis Antetokounmpo.
Giannis, last year’s MVP in the NBA, spoke to the crowd. According to a Yahoo!Sports report he said: “We want change, we want justice, and that’s why we’re out here. That’s what we’re going to do today. That’s why I’m going to march with you. I want my kid to grow up here in Milwaukee, and not to be scared to walk in the streets. I don’t want my kid to have hate in his heart.”
Mason, a third-year pro, has played in six games for the Bucks this season, averaging 2.3 points and 1.8 assists per game. He’s averaged 25.3 points a game in 24 games for the Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks’ G League affiliate.
Robinson provides uplifting messages
Former KU forward Thomas Robinson during this turbulent time asked his Twitter followers Monday to “tell me what your dream is? What you are working on becoming? Dm (direct message) me if you like. But let’s put it in the air!”
Several of his Twitter followers responded by informing Robinson of their dreams with Robinson providing an inspirational message in return.
For instance, one follower wrote: “Working on becoming a bestselling author.” Robinson replied: “Best thing about new authors are new visions the world (has) never seen because you are 1 of 1 why wouldn’t we love it!”
Another Robinson Twitter follower wrote: “I want to write.”
And Robinson responded: “And you will Create in a way we never seen. It’s only one of you! Share it with the world! Write till your hands hurt!”
Robinson, who is in Los Angeles after playing pro ball in both China and Russia during the 2019-20 season, also offered to provide protective COVID-19 Black Lives Matter masks to followers to wear “during peaceful protests.” They are being provided by Robinson to the public for free.
“If you know of any peaceful protest groups in LA hit me. We’ll get these out to your group ASAP! Stay safe and let’s continue to push for change,” Robinson wrote on Twitter.
Robinson, 29, is slated to be the next Jayhawk to have his jersey hung in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse, coach Bill Self stated last season. He was unable to make it back for a jersey retirement ceremony this past season because of his jobs overseas.
Kepnang may switch classes
Franck Kepnang, a 6-11, 225-pound senior-to-be center from Westtown (Pennsylvania) School is “highly considering” switching from the recruiting class of 2021 to 2020, his guardian told Zagsblog.com on Monday.
A move to 2020 would not necessarily be good news for KU in recruiting Rivals.com’s No. 26-rated player in the class of 2021. That’s because at this time KU has no scholarships available for the 2020 class.
Kepnang, who has a recruiting list of KU, St. John’s, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Miami, Stanford, UCLA, Illinois and others, has “until about August,” to make a decision on reclassifying, his mentor, Mark Carter, told Zagsblog.com.
Asked what he’s looking for in a school , Kepnang said: “II want to see how a school plays through their bigs and how much they allow their bigs to do.
“With the new style of basketball, do they let their bigs shoot? That’s important to me because I’ve been working a lot on my shooting and getting pretty good at it.”
Griggs, Williams to play in same backcourt
Bryce Griggs, a 6-2 junior-to-be combo guard, from San Ysidro High in San Diego, California, who has KU on his list of schools, next season will combine with fellow KU target Mikey Williams to form one of the most electric backcourts in prep basketball.
Griggs, the No. 28-ranked prospect in the recruiting class of 2022 by Rivals.com, is originally from Houston. He’s moved to California to join 6-1 point guard Williams, who is expected to be a top 10 prospect in the recruiting class of 2023 when the rankings are released,
“I provide leadership, assists, I can score and I’m very vocal. Playing with Mikey, since we are both dogs, we will lead by example,” Griggs told 247sports.com. “I have the scoring part. I’m tweaking my game every day and learning the fundamentals. Defense and athleticism. But I can score from all three levels and I’m getting stronger every day,” added Griggs, who is considering KU, Houston, Oklahoma State, Memphis, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and others.
“The coaches I talk to the most are Penny Hardaway and Memphis, Houston’s coaches and definitely Bill Self and Kansas,” Griggs said.
Williams, who averaged 29.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game for San Ysidro High last season, is considering KU, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Memphis, USC, Oregon, Texas Tech, Tennessee and others.
Last week, he received offers from several historically black colleges and universities, indicating he wants to pave the way for other top prospects to consider smaller HBCU programs.
“Any way I can help or make a change in the black community, best believe I am going to do that,” Williams said.
Thus he last week added Morehouse College, Florida A&M, Hampton, North Carolina Central, Alabama State, Grambling State, Norfolk State, Texas Southern, and others to his list of schools.
“Honestly, all that it would take is one Top 25 kid coming to an HBCU, being successful and going on to play in the NBA,” Norfolk State coach Robert Jones told Yahoo!Sports. “Then a lot of other kids would follow. It would change everything (for smaller colleges in recruiting).”
Ford has long list of schools
Derrian Ford, a 6-3 junior-to-be from Magnolia (Arkansas) High School, has several schools on his list. They are: KU, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Alabama, Texas A&M, Oral Roberts, Wake Forest, TCU, Mississippi, Florida, Auburn, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Arizona State and others.
“More often than not guys like him that don’t play on traditional power travel teams — though he would have played in the EYBL with Team Thad this summer — can fly under the radar early on in the process, but Ford has come on strong with offers lately,” wrote Dan McDonald of Rivals.com.
“Kansas jumped in with a scholarship offer and joined Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Baylor, Florida, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State and several others. I wouldn’t be surprised given his ability to score and be a well-rounded player if more bluebloods come into the picture.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Now in NBA, former Jayhawk players Oubre, Mason attend protests in Phoenix, Milwaukee."
