Many Duquesne fans heard the news April 2, 2013 – Micah Mason, the top 3-point shooter in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and fourth best in the nation, was transferring to Duquesne, reportedly so he could be closer to home. Many other basketball fans throughout the area knew his name because of the numbers he put up while playing for Highlands High School.
After one season in Des Moines, Iowa playing for Drake University, Mason has now brought his fantastic jump shot back to his home city. Coach Ferry and the Dukes are relishing his presence on the court. And even though he wasn’t talked about a whole lot coming into this season, Mason is an emerging star, in the same town where he broke the all-time WPIAL record for 3-pointers.
The 6-2 sophomore made 346 triples in his four years playing varsity basketball for Highlands. Interestingly enough, the man who held the shooting record before he broke it was T.J. McConnell, who hit 344 3-pointers while playing for Chartiers Valley. However, McConnell was offered a scholarship to Duquesne and played for the Dukes his freshman season before transferring to Arizona. Mason passed under the radar of the Ron Everhart-led Duquesne coaching staff at the time and never got an offer from the school.
It doesn’t matter much now, because, luckily for Duquesne, that is where Mason ended up. But one has to ask why, especially given his fantastic high school career. Mason tallied a total of 2272 points in four years, placing him 12th all-time among WPIAL scorers. In 2011, Mason got mentioned in Sports Illustrated after scoring 64 points in a win against Valley. The single-game number stands as the second-most points ever scored in a WPIAL game. He was also featured on the Tribune-Review’s Terrific 10 and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Fab Five in his junior and senior seasons. Those last two years of his high school career also saw him make the Class AAA all-state team both years, after becoming the first player in over 30 years to lead the WPIAL in scoring back-to-back seasons.
Mason’s dead-eye jump shot made him a star at Drake, where he helped his team to a second-round berth in the conference tournament – Drake lost to rising power Creighton, 53-65. After his freshman season at Drake, however, Mason felt like he needed to be closer to family and friends back home in Pittsburgh. Both Duquesne and Pitt asked for his transfer papers, but the Panthers never called. Duquesne gladly accepted Mason, but they didn’t expect him to be a presence on the floor until the 2014-15 season. Due to NCAA rules, since he transferred to another Division 1 school, he thought he would have to sit out a year before seeing game action, like teammate Ovie Soko had to do last season after transferring from UAB.
Luckily, Mason was able to obtain a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA, after coach Ferry worked with the player’s family, and doctors to try and make a case for a hardship due to Mason’s POTS syndrome – a condition that forced Mason’s mother to move to Des Moines to cook his meals last year. The sophomore guard found out he was cleared the week of Duquesne’s first game against Abilene Christian, with hardly over 48 hours to spare.
Mason’s presence on the floor has been invaluable this season. He has kept the Dukes in many games they never would have won, or even been as competitive in, if it weren’t for his shot. Ferry knew he would be a force even before the season started, citing Mason as one of the best 3-point shooters in the country. Coach expected Duquesne’s strength down low to give Mason some great opportunities for open shots, when defenses would inevitably collapse on Soko or McKoy.
In two of Duquesne’s last three games, that is exactly what happened. Mason came up big against Saint Louis, shooting 5 of 7 from 3-point range while scoring 15 points. In the following game against St. Bonaventure, Mason kept Duquesne in the game during the first half, hitting four threes and missing just one. After a six point halftime deficit, the Dukes came back to win by two. Against NJIT, Mason contributed in other ways. Although he only hit one from behind the arc, he tallied 13 points and 7 rebounds, most importantly adding a crucial tip-in late in the game to put his team up by four.
Mason adds another dimension to a Duquesne team that needed all the help it could get after last year. The other dimension he adds to the team is indispensable. Once again, he has the chance to be a star in his hometown, but this time it is at the next level.
Photo Credit: John Heller, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
