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Antoine Mason Is Driven to Succeed, Just Like His Father
Longtime Knicks fans probably still treasure memories of Anthony Mason, a powerful 6-foot-7, 250-pound forward who willed himself to prominence as a seemingly tireless worker beside Patrick Ewing in the early 1990s. Mason’s son Antoine, a junior guard at Niagara who is the second-leading scorer in Division I with 25.7 points a game, has a less imposing body type. But he is his father’s son in every other way.
Like his father, who played at Tennessee State and reached the N.B.A. after stints in Turkey, Venezuela, the Continental Basketball Association and the United States Basketball League, Antoine (6-3, 210 pounds) is buoyed by the self-confidence that he, too, can play at the highest level. He is also driven to do whatever it takes to get there.
“My confidence is sky-high; I feel I am the best scorer in the nation,” said Antoine, who is dueling Doug McDermott (26 points a game), a senior forward at Creighton, for that honor. “I just want to put my best effort out every game.”
Antoine is heavily motivated by his father, who is as much a force in his son’s life as he was in the frontcourt when he helped the Knicks reach the N.B.A. finals against the Houston Rockets in 1994. When Antoine excelled for New Rochelle High School in New York, his father humbled him by taking him to Rucker Park in Harlem and exposing him to the rough-and-tumble style of basketball there.
Anthony Mason, who lives in New Rochelle and works in insurance, attends almost all of his son’s games. He invariably briefs him before the second half on what needs to improve.
“I want my kids to be successful in life, period,” said Anthony, 47, who was the N.B.A.’s sixth man of the year in 1995. “You don’t put pressure on your kids to do what you did. Of course, I want them to achieve their dreams.”
Another son, Anthony Mason Jr., a 6-7, 205-pound forward, played at St. John’s from 2005 to 2010. He continues to refine his game with Sioux Falls of the N.B.A.’s Development League.
Niagara (6-23) is rebuilding with 10 additions to its roster under the first-year coach Chris Casey. And despite Antoine Mason’s scoring output — he accounts for 33.6 percent of his team’s points, second nationally — he remains a work in progress as well. Like his father, he is difficult to stop when he slices inside, but his effectiveness decreases when he cannot penetrate. He is shooting 43.5 percent from the floor (235 of 540) and only 29.9 percent from 3-point range (46 of 154) while connecting on 74.1 percent of his free throws (229 of 309).
Mason leads the nation in free throws made, free throws attempted and field goals attempted. He is eager to be known for more than scoring, though, and cites defense and rebounding as areas he would like to improve. He averages 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists.
“I want to make sure when I’m not scoring, I’m doing something else,” he said.
Looking back on his career, Anthony Mason said, “Nobody outworked me,” and Niagara’s coach says Antoine has the same relentlessness.
“He is the first in the gym and the last to leave,” Casey said. “He shoots on off days. It’s not an accident that he is where he is.”
Antoine averages 37.4 minutes; his father set the Knicks’ single-season record with 3,457 minutes in 1995-96, which is more than 42 minutes a game.
Antoine has earned respect throughout the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
“You can’t take his numbers away from him,” Manhattan Coach Steve Masiello said. “He plays hard every night, and he can score the basketball. He’s got a gift.”
Mason averaged a team-leading 18.7 points last season in helping the Purple Eagles to the conference’s regular-season title. Casey credits Anthony Mason’s heavy involvement for Antoine’s progress.
“To have someone who has probably forgotten more basketball than most of us will ever know, to have someone who is almost like an encyclopedia, is a very valuable thing,” Casey said.
Antoine’s mother, Latifa Whitlock, emphasizes education to her son. He made the dean’s list in the fall with a 3.5 grade-point average.
“I always tell Antoine: ‘Don’t let basketball use you. You use basketball,’ ” she said.
She also seeks to ease the pressure on him.
“I made sure he had an identity. He was always Antoine Mason, not Anthony Mason’s son,” she said.
Anthony was cut after being a third-round draft choice by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1988. He bounced around domestically and abroad before he established himself with the Knicks in 1991 and played for them until 1996, part of his 13-year N.B.A. career. Anthony hopes his son can avoid such a circuitous route.
“If his jumper develops the way I think it can, he can take a direct path,” he said. “He has a lot more tools than I probably had at this stage.”
Antoine redshirted his freshman season because of a foot injury. He is on course to graduate in May with a degree in finance, leaving him with one year of eligibility. Although Casey said he expected him to stay, he might enhance his N.B.A. prospects by transferring to a program with greater exposure and proving he can flourish against better competition.
Antoine said he did not have his immediate sights on the N.B.A.
“It’s been my goal since I was a little kid, but I’m just focused on this season,” he said. “I’m not worried about the next level yet.”
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