Big 12: Kansas’ Conner Frankamp To Transfer
By Cody Daniel
After former Kansas point guard Naadir Tharpe made his choice to leave the program for personal reasons, there was no question Kansas’ pursuit of a deep NCAA tournament run and 11 straight Big 12 regular season titles would have a bit more difficulty added with a glaring weakness from their floor general role.
The load would be placed on the shoulders of freshman Devonte Graham and returning role players Frank Mason and Conner Frankamp.
Well, unfortunately for the preseason-No. 5 Jayhawks, one of their only two notable options with experience will be taking his leave as well, with Frankamp transferring away from Kansas in search of a bigger role.
Kansas shooting guard Conner Frankamp is transferring. Was behind too many guys -- and would have played sparingly.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) October 31, 2014
Frankamp, a combo guard entering his sophomore season made the decision Thursday after speaking with head coach Bill Self, which led to the following statement by Self via ESPN.com.
"“On Thursday he informed me he was going to transfer at the end of this fall semester. From this point forward he is no longer part of this team and will not participate this semester so he can transfer after Christmas and have 2½ years remaining when he becomes eligible after sitting out one full academic year.”"
Frankamp also touched on his decision to leave Kansas.
"“I’ve been thinking about this for a while now,” Frankamp said. “I love KU and I love the Jayhawks. I feel like I’ve improved quite a bit since I’ve been here. I love my teammates but I just don’t feel like it’s the right fit for me. We have many good guards and so many big-time players. I want to be at a place where I could play a bigger role.”"
One thing for sure is it shouldn’t be very hard for Frankamp to find a new home that’s willing to accommodate him with the role he is looking for as several other big name programs were involved in his recruitment.
As for Kansas and how Frankamp’s departure will affect them this season; a very unsure ball-handling backcourt will get even thinner and with the only realistic choices being a freshman in Graham, Mason and a score-first minded shooting guard in Wayne Selden, the growing pains due to inexperience will become very evident.
Obviously, Frankamp wasn’t much of a factor last season so it could appear that his choice to transfer isn’t much of an issue, but with Frankamp’s undeniable ability to score and run an offense, another season under his belt could have proven to be one where he emerged at Kansas.
But now that he’s gone, something as simple as an injury to a primary ball handler or scorer off the bench at the wrong stretch of the season could result in some very negative consequences, especially considering the depth and talent pool that fills the Big 12 conference.
With the regular season set to kick off in only two short weeks, Self and his coaching staff will need to make some adjustments to prepare for a season that’s going to become extremely competitive, extremely quickly.