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LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball will be represented in The Basketball Tournament again this year by its alumni team, Mass Street.
The roster already includes a number of familiar faces, according to a TBT release. Those are Silvio De Sousa, Dedric Lawson, Lagerald Vick, Malik Newman, Frank Mason III, Jamari Traylor, Kevin Young, Thomas Robinson and Mario Little. And Mass Street, coached again by Marcus Morris, learned Wednesday it will open its tournament run next month in the first round of the Wichita Regional against Ram Up (Colorado State alumni).
That opening matchup is set for July 20 at 7 p.m. CT at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas. The winner will advance to a second-round game on July 22 at 6 p.m. CT against either Florida TNT or the LA Cheaters. And the Wichita Regional’s championship game follows on July 24 at 8 p.m. CT.
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Before the tournament gets going, though, get to know the Mass Street roster former KU players Tyshawn Taylor and Travis Releford put together. It’s one that has the potential to grow. According to Jake Pavorsky, the TBT’s director of player personnel and public relations, Marcus Garrett is expected to end up playing but he’s weighing some professional opportunities.
Kansas basketball’s Mass Street alumni team roster for The Basketball Tournament
Silvio De Sousa: 6-foot-9 power forward. De Sousa was a member of Kansas’ Final Four team in 2018, a run that has since been vacated. He’s played professionally overseas since his college career, which included a stint at Chattanooga after KU, came to an end.
Dedric Lawson: 6-foot-9 power forward. Lawson started his college career at Memphis, before finishing it at Kansas. After being named the Big 12 Conference’s newcomer of the year during the 2018-19 campaign, he embarked on a professional career that has also seen him play overseas.
Lagerald Vick: 6-foot-6 point guard. Vick was also a member of that 2018 Final Four team, during a career in which Kansas enjoyed a lot of regular season and postseason success. He has since gone on to play professionally overseas, too.
Malik Newman: 6-foot-4 shooting guard. Newman started his college career at Mississippi State, before wrapping it up at Kansas and going on to a professional career that has included time overseas. His time with the Jayhawks, which included the Final Four run in 2018, saw him collect numerous honors during the 2017-18 season — including Big 12 newcomer of the year, Big 12 tournament most outstanding player and the NCAA tournament Midwest region’s most outstanding player.
Frank Mason III: 6-foot point guard. Mason became a second-round NBA draft pick in 2017 after his career at Kansas and has played in the NBA and overseas. His senior season at KU saw him become the consensus national player of the year, not to mention a consensus first-team All-American and the Big 12 player of the year.
Jamari Traylor: 6-foot-9 power forward. Traylor has enjoyed a professional career that’s mostly been spent overseas since his time at Kansas. Much like his fellow Mass Street teammates, regular season and postseason success weren’t uncommon while he played for the Jayhawks in the early-to-mid 2010s.
Kevin Young: 6-foot-8 power forward. Young played for Loyola Marymount in college before he played at Kansas, which helped propel him to a professional career that has seen him play in the United States and elsewhere. He’s a member of the Jayhawks’ team that finished as a runner-up in the 2012 NCAA tournament.
Thomas Robinson: 6-foot-9 center. Robinson was also a member of the team that finished as the runner-up in the 2012 NCAA tournament, during a season that saw him earn numerous honors — including being named a consensus first-team All-American. That led to him becoming a first-round pick in the 2012 NBA draft, and a professional career that started in the NBA and has also seen him play overseas.
Mario Little: 6-foot-5 small forward. Little joined Kansas after excelling at the junior college level just after the Jayhawks’ NCAA championship in 2008. Someone who’s gone on to his own professional career, including overseas, the Jayhawks enjoyed a lot of regular season and postseason success during his time in college with them.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.