Sports

Mase of Base: Kennedy guard finds new home, beginning at Baseline

YORK, Pa. — Zakiya Mason was looking for a chance to prove herself.

The John F. Kennedy wing began playing travel ball with the New York Elite early in her career and lasted a short time with the Warriors a year ago. She spent the majority of her most important summer competing locally with Knights assistant coach Jeff Paige. Mason was in search of a new team and heard about Baseline and coach Tomas Baez, who consistently produces scholarship players.

“He’s a good coach,” she said.

Baez was unsure whether he would even take her with a full team already and Mason’s reputation as a project on and off the court. After watching the 5-foot-6 Mason in action, he could see her talent and wondered why she wasn’t Kennedy’s best player. He saw a player in need of guidance after punctuality and communication issues previously derailed her. She’s been a model citizen thus far with Baseline.

“I realized she needed an opportunity,” Baez said. “She hasn’t really played that much at Kennedy or AAU ball.”

Baez’s hope is a different role and position will develop Mason, the sister of former Bishop Ford star Diani Mason, as a player and earn her a college scholarship. Baez is playing her at the point, not on the wing — her position at Kennedy — this summer. He feels it’s the best place for her to impress college coaches and develop the leadership skills she needs as the one of the upperclassmen on a young Knights team come next winter.

“As long as you put Zakiya on the wing, she won’t talk,” Baez said. “At point guard, she is forced to call plays or call different options or tell people, ‘get out of the way I can take her.’”

Mason is adjusting well to her new position, though she admitted trouble calling out plays. She showed off some of her skills in Baseline’s opening game loss to the New Jersey Panthers Blue in the silver bracket of the BlueChip USA Invitational at Toyota Arena in York, Pa. on Thursday.

Mason was drawing defenders on drives through the lane and kicking to open teammates. She showed craftiness on one play, using a change of pace dribble to blow by two trapping defenders along the right side, missed the initial layup, but put in the follow. Defensively, she was relentless in the passing lanes and once had two opponents bounce off her as she turned a long rebound into a fastbreak.

“It’s going to help me for next year,” said Mason, who transferred from Bryant after her freshman year. “We have freshmen and sophomores now, but if we have good workouts and practices we will be a good team.”

The Knights are going to need her to be one of the leaders of a group that lost seven seniors and fell in the PSAL Class A quarterfinals last March. Mason averaged 5.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in limited action off the bench last year. She became a spark when playing with confidence and scored inside and out late in the season. That included tallying 10 of her 11 points in the second half of an overtime loss to dynamo Murry Bergtraum.

A scholarship will not be an easy accomplishment, Baez said. Mason will need to pick things up in the classroom and get college coaches to notice her this summer. Baez felt if she had a better start, she could have been a low Division I player, but sees her as more of a Division II-type now. Mason hopes to go Division I and follow in the footsteps of her sister Diani, who signed with Division I Radford.

“I’m trying to tell her, ‘you already got it, you have the skill set,’” Baez said “’You just have to apply yourself.'”

jstaszewski@nypost.com