Makai Mason is finally back to playing basketball this season.
The Greenfield native has been working his way back to full health after a tumultuous past two seasons and he is quickly making a name for himself at his new home in Waco, Texas, where he is filling up stat sheets as the starting point guard for Baylor.
Mason, a 6-foot-1 guard, has played in and started 13 of Baylor’s 16 games this season and is leading his team in scoring with 14.6 points per game. The Bears are 10-6 overall and tied for third place in a crowded Big 12 at 2-2.
The last time Mason was regularly playing was the 2015-16 season when he led Yale to an Ivy League championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1962. Mason averaged 16 ppg that season and earned national recognition when he scored a game-high 31 points to lead the 12th-seeded Bulldogs to their first-ever NCAA Tournament win with a 79-75 victory over No. 5 Baylor.
It looked like Mason was set up for a successful career at Yale, but just before his junior season got underway, he suffered an ankle injury in a preseason game against Boston University. The injury cost Mason the entire season. He appeared to be on track for a bounce-back year during his senior year, but a stress fracture in his foot side-tracked Mason’s season. While it did not appear to be major at first, Mason wound up playing in just one game.
Because of the injuries, Mason was granted what amounts to a “redshirt” year, or one final year of eligibility under NCAA rules. Under Ivy League rules, however, players are only eligible for four years, which meant Mason had to find a new home for his fifth year of eligibility. Suitors came calling even before his senior season began, as the Ivy League preseason Player of the Year was a well-known commodity. Mason had interest from several major programs including Notre Dame, Duke and Gonzaga, but ultimately decided on Baylor and coach Scott Drew.
This season began with a minor setback as Mason had a bad ankle sprain in his right foot — the opposite foot from the past injury — which cost him the first three games of the season. He battled back and made his debut with 11 points in an 84-51 victory over Nicholls State on Nov. 16.
“It feels great, just to be able to compete again, and have the opportunity to compete against some of the best players in the country,” Mason said on Wednesday. “Just being out so long, you miss all the little things about the game and you don’t take it for granted when you’re able to compete again, doing something you love.”
While Mason played against several power conference teams as a member of Yale, he is now competing against the top teams in the nation every time he takes the court in conference play. The Big 12 currently has three teams in the Associated Press Top 25, and of the 10 teams in the Big 12, all are in the top 76 of the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings (KenPom), which is an analytic used to measure the 353 Division I college basketball teams by the NCAA Tournament Committee. Baylor is not in the AP Top 25, but is ranked 53rd in the nation on KenPom.
“Big 12 play has been really fun; all the atmospheres on the road are awesome. When you get to silence a crowd or steal a win on the road, it’s a great feeling,” Mason said. “Playing in a conference like this is something you dream of, just to measure yourself against the best, and have to bring your A game every night if you want to have a chance at winning.”
Mason appears to be as close to 100 percent as he has been since his Cinderella sophomore season and it’s reflecting in his play. Not only is Mason leading his team in scoring (and shooting 42 percent from the field), he is leading the team in minutes per game (31.8), is second in total assists (37), and is averaging 2.8 rebounds per game.
“It’s feeling pretty good at this point, and I’m grateful that my body has held up well this year,” Mason said.
Baylor will have to play well if it is going to get a shot at the NCAA Tournament. The Bears lost sophomore forward Tristan Clark for the season with a knee injury. Not only was he tied with Mason at 14.6 points per game, he averaged 6.3 rebounds per game and was leading the nation in field goal shooting percentage at 73.7 percent.
The Bears are 1-1 since he was hurt.