Scoring is in demand and one of the nation’s very best at lighting up the scoreboard hit the open market this week.
A feeding frenzy has already begun for Antoine Mason, the Niagara transfer and son of former Knicks star Anthony Mason, who will be eligible immediately as a graduate senior.
Mason played three games his freshman year before red-shirting after an injury, so he has one year of eligibility left.
“It’s been all over the place,” Anthony Mason said of the calls he has fielded already. “We’re getting a lot of calls.”
The 6-foot-3 Mason, a New Rochelle High School grad, was second in the nation in scoring last year, averaging 25.6 points per game under first-year coach Chris Casey.
Sources said Boston College, UCLA and Providence have expressed initial interest. Anthony Mason’s phone hasn’t stopped buzzing since the news broke, coaches from the Big East, Pac-12, SEC, ACC and Big Ten all looking to get involved, though he declined to list specific schools.
Whichever school lands Mason will be getting a high-level scorer and a player hungry to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
“He’s not necessarily a shooter, but he can make shots and gets to the free throw line a ton,” one college coach who has faced Mason throughout his career said. “If he can curtail his [questionable] shot selection, he can take a team that’s on the fringe of making the NCAA Tournament into a tournament team.”
The plan is to sit down over the weekend and map out the next step, said Anthony Mason, who flew back to the area from North Carolina on Thursday. They want to take multiple visits.
“We just want to go somewhere with a little bit more exposure, maybe play at a higher level,” Anthony Mason said. “We have a lot to sit down and think about.”
A major factor is Mason’s future, his father said. Exposure is important for his NBA Draft stock. When he played on a winner two years ago — Niagara was the MAAC regular-season champion — Mason was a first team All-MAAC selection, while averaging 18.7 points per game. But last year, despite finishing second in the nation in scoring, he was on the second team.
“We need to find out: Can he play at the next level or can he not play at the next level?” Anthony Mason said.
Niagara has granted Mason a permission to contact letter, meaning he can speak to any school and any school can recruit him. It, however, is unclear if Niagara plans to block him from attending any school, particularly other MAAC programs.
- Georgia Tech transfer Robert Carter Jr. visited St. John’s over the weekend. A source said it “went well.” The 6-foot-8 Carter averaged 11.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game for the Yellow Jackets.
- Houston transfer Ahmed Hamdy, a 6-foot-9 forward, is expected to visit St. John’s next weekend.
- Manhattan extended a scholarship offer to Brooklyn guard Kashaun Hicks, a senior from private school Berkeley Carroll.
- Iona has landed a verbal commitment from wing Jan Svandrlik of the Canarias Basketball Academy in Spain.