Let's Do This: KU PG "Mount Rushmore" rankings

The other day, KU basketball’s official account posted some content designed to ripple through all Jayhawk groupchats. It got swallowed up by all the new football arena hoopla (ok I love the wheat lights that’s so insane and fun) but I’m obviously still thinking about. If I didn’t weigh in on PG Mount Rushmore, then what is Streak Talk for? Have I abandoned the core offseason message board debates that make this prompt sing? Is life some kind of grand illusion?

I’m mad they didn’t mock up Streak Talk in the content studio

Let’s get back to the point… slowly but I’ll get there. First off, I love the “Mount Rushmore” debate. It’s so arbitrary… why would you ever need to pick four anything when it comes to basketball? Consensus? Ha! Everyone’s gonna see who they want to see up there, and that’s completely cool.

And yet I can’t help myself….

Aaron Miles is in. As I’ve written before, Aaron Miles is the greatest statistical PG in the history of Kansas basketball, and it’s not particularly close. No credible “best KU PGs” list excludes Miles. That he isn’t in the rafters is one of the program’s great tragedies—he got caught up in coach ego drama that had nothing to do with him. He’s on PG Rushmore. Thank you, next.

Frank Mason has to be in, as well.

I’ll talk about this when I get to my next selection, but the mythology around the point guard position has spawned infinite interpretations. What kind of PG is the best? One that passes first, and gets every teammate involved before they look to score themselves? Or is it someone who can bend the game at will with the ball in their hands, whether that’s scoring, passing or some intangible quality?

Frank Mason is of that latter category, though I think that sells him short—by a lot. In his Wooden Award-winning (!!) 2016-2017, he averaged 23.2 PPG with 5.7 APG on 47% three point shooting. The only other Jayhawk to win the Wooden Award was Danny Manning, and Mason did it as a 5’11” dude who could do it on both ends.

He really did it all—got to the stripe, could play fast or slow and had a layup package that the JellyFam would be jealous of. Most of all, he had that uncanny way of bending his way to the goal and getting his shot off against people a foot taller than them. I thought Sherron was good at that—but Frank Mason is the master.

This is where things get a little tougher, because I feel pressure to flesh out the “idea” of a Kansas point guard. That’s why I’m picking Jacque Vaughn as my third man on the rock.

For an entire generation of Kansans, Jacque Vaughn was our first love. Jacque was the engine of one of the greatest Kansas teams of all time, and hit maybe the greatest “nice to meet y’all” shot in program history. He had that patented spin move, one that he broke out at the most exciting moments possible, like he was Chris Jericho or something. He fully captured the imagination of every 6-16-year old male in Johnson County. Jacque quoted Robert Frost in press conferences, and the whole department held up Vaughn as the model of a student-athlete, someone who got their work done on and off the court, selflessly and stylishly.

[Ducks] The stats tell a different story. While Vaughn was absolutely an additive player, he didn’t play at the level of Miles or Mason—if you’re clocking Win Shares, Vaughn’s best year was best for 6th in the Big 8 that season, behind two Jayhawks (you might not guess which two!). His junior season assist total of 238 broke the Kansas record… until Aaron Miles outpassed that number in three different seasons.

Criticizing Vaughn feels like heresy, I know, it pains me to do it. He’s on Mt. Rushmore! What else do you want from me?!

Well, here we are. My final Mount Rushmore selection. Has this been worth it? Are you nodding vigorously, agreeing with every typed word, are you boiling with rage, or something in between? You might not like what I do or say next. But you also might love it!

First, let’s eliminate some guys. Hinrich was a better player off the ball. He established the mold KU still uses, to some extent—employing multiple guards who can handle at once. Hinrich was never KU’s primary point guard. Kirk is probably one of my five favorite Jayhawks of all time, but he’s not going up on the mountain.

Mario Chalmers hit The Shot, but he was a streaky (albeit quite clutch!) shooter who could play recklessly. He’s an underrated hands guy—my favorite non Shot Chalmers videos to watch are his big steals games, because he’s got a real playground flair for the steal. Dajuan Harris might be as good of a hands guy as Chalmers, but he’s not as theatrical about it. This one’s tough to be all like “I MUST CONSIDER THE BODY OF WORK!” but I’m doing it, and Chalmers is out.

If Dajuan Harris continues apace, he’s going up there. Because of his COVID year, we may be treated to five seasons of Harris, an all-time Jayhawk hands man. Harris will be up there, but he’s not done playing yet. Let’s keep enjoying it until we can canonize it.

I wanted to really go curveball and nominate some Jayhawks I’d love to pick, for vibes reasons. Tyshawn, Marcus Garrett, Devon Dotson who will never get his due…. I love you all.

Jojo White, I never saw you play, and I’m sad about it.

My fourth selection is Sherron Collins. There’s plenty of qualifications to rattle off—he was a 2x All-American, he’s fifth all-time on the Jayhawks scoring list despite never having a single top-10 scoring season, he made the steal and canned the ensuing corner three that setup the most epic comeback in NCAA title game history.

No matter what role you gave Sherron, he thrived. As a freshman, he was the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year, which somehow undersells his impact that season. With the ball in his hands, Sherron could completely change a game. It was some “just roll the ball out and see what happens” type stuff. Sherron is a born hooper, someone who could create something out of nothing with the ball in his hands, the prototype Bill Self backcourt leader. Like my argument for Keith Langford in the rafters, this one involves a lot of “vibe”—but the numbers are there, too, I think.

Alright, time to let you do your thing. Your picks in the comments. Assemble your PG Rushmore!