Conner Frankamp leaves Kansas over playing time concerns
One of the few bright spots from Kansas' unexpected round of 32 NCAA tournament loss to Stanford last March was Conner Frankamp coming off the bench to sink four 3-pointers to help rally the Jayhawks late in the second half.
Turns out those will be his final buckets in a Kansas jersey.
Kansas coach Bill Self announced Friday that Frankamp intends to transfer because of playing time concerns. The 6-foot sophomore would have carved out a role off the bench because of his outside shooting, but he lacked the size to compete for a starting spot on the wing and his lack of elite quickness was inhibiting him in his battle with Frank Mason and Devonte Graham at the point guard spot.
“I met with Conner and his father (Martin Frankamp) Wednesday to discuss his situation and opportunity this season at Kansas,” Self said in a release. “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 two-and-a-half years remaining when he becomes eligible after sitting out one full academic year.”
The departure of Frankamp is a blow to Kansas, though certainly not a season-altering one. It puts more pressure on Mason and Graham to solidify the point guard position — easily the biggest area of concern on the roster entering the season — and it forces sophomore Brannen Greene to emerge as the zone-busting shooter off the bench that the Jayhawks had hoped Frankamp would be.
Frankamp, Rivals.com's No. 34 recruit in the Class of 2013, averaged a modest 2.5 points and 0.6 assists per game off the bench as a freshman, but his role increased when Kansas began encountering more zone defense late in the season and in the NCAA tournament. The Wichita native undoubtedly will receive plenty of interest from high-major and mid-major teams a tier below the Jayhawks.
"I've been thinking about this for a while now," Frankamp said in the release. "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."
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
