Niagara's Antoine Mason: The best player you've never heard of

Antoine Mason is his father’s son.

You can see it in his eyes. Not just in their shape, but in the way they can stare you down — or piercingly gaze through you — on a basketball court.

And you can see it in his relentless drive to the hole.

But you can mostly see it in his peerless determination to hone his craft on the hardwood, a work ethic that almost has to be genetic.

Yes, Antoine Mason is the son of Anthony Mason. That’s THE Anthony Mason, the NBA All-Star who relished doing the dirty work and never ran away from a fight.

But now, as the leading scorer in the NCAA, Antoine’s doing things his father never did.

Dizzying Stats

31.2 per game. 50 percent shooting from the field. A minimum of nine shots from the charity stripe in each contest, a testament to raw slashing and cutting abilities in the lane.

‘Melo stats? LeBron stats? No, they’re Antoine stats.

Mason has thrived in first-year coach Chris Casey’s motion offense up in Lewiston, N.Y., taking advantage of frequent ball reversals and quick passing to shoot at a high volume while remaining efficient.

He’s no ball hog either. Mason has tallied three assists apiece in each of his past two games.

“He does a good job of scoring points and playing in a team concept,” Casey raved.

Even Niagara’s opponents have given Mason plenty of respect.

“You can’t rely on one guy to stop him,” said Penn coach Jerome Allen, who faces the unenviable task of trying to slow down the redshirt junior Tuesday night. “I think he’s a tremendous talent, and obviously it’s documented by how good of a season he’s gotten off to scoring the ball.”

But there’s one question on everybody’s minds.

Where the hell did this guy come from?

Welcome to Rucker Park

Well, it wasn’t his hometown, New Rochelle, at least … not entirely.

The Antoine Mason that’s lighting up the scoreboard today is a product of sweltering afternoons spent in Rucker Park, New York’s streetball mecca.

While Antoine was torching the Westchester high school circuit, Anthony — sensing complacency — wanted to fix some problems in Antoine’s game. The solution? To let his son fend for himself against the toughest competition in New York City.

The results were, well… let’s just say they were ugly at first.

“It was a big jump,” Antoine said. “When I got into the city, it was a totally different experience.

“You gotta either succeed or drown.”

And after very nearly drowning, Antoine got his head above water and developed a slew of new moves, eventually earning himself an invite to the prestigious Jordan Brand Classic and a scholarship to the secluded Catholic school that he now calls home.

Sufficiently toughened up by one of the NBA’s toughest players ever, Mason has become a model of durability, having been on the floor for all but eight of Niagara’s minutes this season.

But Anthony’s job isn’t done just yet.

“My worst critic”

Antoine Mason has two coaches.

There’s Casey, the Purple Eagles’ wily first-year head man with 27 years worth of coaching experience and uses every moment of it to push Antoine every day.

And then there’s Anthony, who’s a constant presence in his son’s ear.

“We talk all the time, every day, not just about basketball,” Antoine said. “He likes to be my worst critic. He wants me to play perfect.”

Breaking down every single one of Niagara’s possessions on film with Antoine, Anthony is quick to point out what his son needs to do to make use of all of his tremendous potential, and the results have shown.

“His dad has played at an extremely high level, so when you have someone with that kind of experience level that can impart his knowledge to you, it can be extremely beneficial,” Casey said.

And by playing smarter, Mason has taken his game to heights no one envisioned before the season.

One big shot

But the effect that Mason has had in turning around a once-moribund program isn’t reflected entirely by the numbers, pretty though they may be.

It’s reflected in his heart.

With just under 12 minutes left to go in the second half in Niagara’s home opener against Buffalo, the 1,900 or so fans at the Gallagher Center are getting restless, as a 14-point halftime lead has shrunk to just five.

Antoine decides to wake the crowd up.

Isolated on the right wing, he dribbles through his legs, steps back and drains a trey while drawing enough contact to draw a foul as well, the spark the Purple Eagles needed to hold off the Bulls’ charge.

As the fans erupt, Antoine lets out a primal scream that can be heard in the rafters.

He’s got his father’s voice, too.

SEE ALSO

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