By Paul Gotham
If Duquesne’s Jim Ferry has his way, the Dukes Micah Mason may miss a few more shots. Not that the third-year coach wants his junior guard to take bad shots. He does, though, want Duquesne’s leading three-point shooter to push his boundaries.
“The thing about Micah is he has really been trained and coached to play the game the right way,” Ferry said during a recent Atlantic 10 tele-conference. “The kid does not take bad shots. As we’re trying to get him to be more aggressive, he’s going to have to take some shots which aren’t just maybe what he thinks are great shots. He has to understand a semi-good shot for him is a better shot for him than it is for other people.”
Mason has heard the message. Over the last four games, the Natrona Heights, PA native is averaging 19.25 points per game, and the Dukes (9-16 overall/4-10 A-10) have two wins and two losses over that stretch.
“We’ve been on Micah all year about being aggressive,” Ferry added. “When he first came to us, he played just as a shooter. If you took his shot away, that was it. He wouldn’t do anything. He would pass it, get rid of it and watch everybody else play. We have been working on it with him, and he’s had it in his game. It’s just him finally understanding how aggressive he has to be for us to be good.”
Mason, who hands out 2.8 assists per game and has an assist to turnover ratio of 2:1, has broadened his attack. Last season he hit 25 of 43 shots inside the three-point arc. He is already 36 of 45 from that same area and has shown the ability to score in a variety of ways around the rim.
He matched a career high and handed out nine assists without a turnover this past Saturday in an 83-73 victory over Dayton. He also used an upfake on a pair of occasions to set up baseline drives for layups. His floater in the lane gave Duquesne a 65-56 lead with eight minutes remaining.
“He’s sorta stereotyped as a specialist,” Dayton’ Archie Miller stated. “He’s everything but a specialist. He’s a basketball player. He can play the point for them. He plays off the ball… He does a little bit of everything.”
Mason rebounded from an 0-for-8 performance against the Flyers earlier this season to net 17 and grab eight rebounds in Duquesne’s third straight win at home.
“I just tried to stay aggressive,” Mason said after the game. “I thought the first game at Dayton, I couldn’t find my shot. Still, I wasn’t knocking ‘em down today, but my coach has faith in me and wants me to stay aggressive. That’s what I did.”
Mason combines with teammate Derrick Colter to give Duquesne two point guards who can both score. They combine for nearly 25 points and better than six assists per game.
“When he and Colter are both playing well, it’s a really difficult back court to play against,” Miller noted.
“He doesn’t just rely on shooting right now which makes us more threatening especially with the combination of him and Derrick Colter having basically two point guards on the floor with a scorer’s mentality,” Ferry said.
Mason tallied 16 last Wednesday in a loss at La Salle. He hit 4-of-7 behind the arc while handing out three assists, again without a turnover.
“He’s a ridiculous shooter,” La Salle’s Dr. John Giannini commented. “The thing that impresses me the most is how quick his release is. He gets his shot off unbelievably fast…It’s hard to shoot well when you’re rushed. But he never seems to be rushed. He just gets the ball out of his hands quick with tremendous range and accuracy.”
Per Hoop-Math.com Mason leads the Dukes in true-shooting percentage (a measurement which includes all shots-2pt./3pt. and free throws) at 62.9. He also heads the Dukes with an effective field goal percentage (FG + 0.5 * 3P) / FGA) of 60.7. He has increased his 2-pt. jump shots from 11.3 percent a year ago to 15.9 percent this season while maintaining a rate of roughly 13 percent of his shots at the rim.
“A year ago he was really frankly one-dimensional,” Gianni continued. “He was a three-point shooter. I think he’s a lot quicker this year. He’s having more success putting it on the floor also. He’s clearly worked on his body and done some things to make himself a better player.”
Mason and the Dukes will look to avenge a 78-69 loss at Saint Louis earlier this season when the Billikens visit the Palumbo Center, Wednesday night. He scored a dozen first time around against SLU. A year ago, Mason averaged 18.5 against the regular season conference champions. He went a combined 9 of 12 behind the arc in the two contests.
“He opens up things because you’re scared to death of his three points,” Saint Louis head coach Jim Crews noted. “He’s one of those guys who can hit five, six in a row, so he stretches you out and gives other guys space to have some success.
“Everyone looks at that shooting, but he is much more than a shooter,” Crews added. “He’s just a really, really good player. He can really move without the basketball. He does a great job of with the basketball in terms of play action, in terms of jab step, or foot fake or rip it and go. He’s a better athlete. He’s a very, very good passer.”
Duquesne closes the week at St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies outlasted the Dukes in overtime, 100-97 on January 22.
“He’s a guy who is not only a jump shooter,” St. Bonaventure’s Mark Schmidt said. “He can put it down a little bit. He’s not dead three, so you can’t just go out there and jam him all the time. He’s quick enough. He’s smart enough. He has that skill set where he can go off the dribble a little bit. He’s just a hard guard and a really intelligent player.”
The Dukes, like the rest of the A-10, have four regular season games remaining before heading to the Barclays Center for the conference tournament.
“He’s really blossomed for us at the right time,” Ferry said. “He’s reading screens better. He’s reading defenses better.”
Duquesne and Saint Louis are scheduled to tipoff at 7 pm.
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