Is this the KU TBT team that makes a deep run?

The Kansas alumni Mass Street TBT team won its first game of this year’s tournament in Wichita on Saturday night, knocking off a Colorado State squad behind big nights by Frank Mason III and Billy Preston.

Makes sense.

Those two former Jayhawks should be enough to push this team perhaps to its deepest run in the event to date.

Mass Street will take on Florida TNT at 6 p.m. Monday night in Round 2.

Whether that means it has enough to win it all remains to be seen, but it sure looks like Mason, who has 103 games of NBA experience over four seasons under his belt, could be one of the best guards in the entire bracket.

And we all know how competitive Frank is.

It’s so nice to have a dude like that at the core of what you’re trying to do. He makes everybody around him better. He brings that competitive fire that’s contagious and he’s still skilled enough to win one on one against most if not all guards in the field.

He’s also still young enough to carry the kind of load required to win this thing.

The look and potential success of this squad is about more than just Mason, though.

I’ve seen all of the various iterations of KU’s TBT squads, from the Self Made team to the first few Mass Street groups. And this is the one with the most talent, top to bottom, and the right mix of age, size and experience.

There were a couple of names who showed up on the roster throughout the summer who would’ve really helped. Ben McLemore, Malik Newman, Marcus Garrett and Thomas Robinson chief among them.

But as long as everyone stays healthy, there’s enough here, too.

Before they left for Wichita, I caught one of their practices, put together by people at The Good Game app in Lawrence, and it was clear then that there’s a different level of focus with this group.

For one, the ringleaders — Sherron Collins and Tyshawn Taylor — are treating it very seriously. Collins, you probably know, is a high school coach in Kansas City and it’s quite clear that he’s planning to make a career out of coaching. That reality and the approach that comes with it adds a new wrinkle to the team right there.

And Taylor, who has given more heart and soul to the TBT throughout its existence than any former Jayhawk, is right there with Collins every step of the way, talking through scenarios, what’s next and how to inspire, push and motivate the guys on the floor.

Travis Releford, who told me he’s more in a GM role than anything, is also in their corner, trying to make sure that the Jayhawks are as well represented in this event as possible.

It matters to these guys. And it was cool to see how much it mattered to Mason, too. It would’ve been easy for him and his big, flashy name to just show up and see what happens. But he cares. Basketball means the world to him and whether it’s in a KU uniform fighting for a chance to go to the Final Four, competing for a spot on an NBA roster or in a TBT Mass Street jersey at age 30, Mason treats the game with the same amount of love and respect.

That last part is going to be the biggest key to whether this thing works out and lasts for Kansas alums.

They have to get younger, they have to stay committed and they have to find a way to get some real money backing it so that it becomes a must-do event for the KU guys who are no longer in the NBA or never made it.

They don’t have to win it every year. That’s probably not even realistic. But as long as the roster keeps being made up of guys who will take it seriously and will put their all into it — for themselves, for the money and for Kansas — chances are that one day Mass Street might be the last team standing.