Alston Mason ready to be a Sooner
As the months were turning into weeks into days before the basketball signing period this month, Overland Park, Kan. (Blue Valley Northwest) guard Alston Mason was still searching for a home.
He’s got it. It’s in Norman, and it’s with the Sooners. Mason became the initial commitment for first-year head coach Porter Moser last week and kicked off what should be a busy signing period for the Sooners on Wednesday.
Mason was being recruited heavily by Moser when Moser was still running the show at Loyola, but Mason had no idea the two would reconnect after Moser announced he’d be taking over for a retiring Lon Kruger at OU.
“Everything was up and down,” Mason said. “One thing, when Coach Moser was at Loyola, I was thinking about going down there. Then it was let me take a step back, don’t know where’s going. He goes to OU and that got me excited. It’s a great opportunity.”
Mason had a sensational senior season where he averaged more than 22 points per game, and he’s the third big-time guard for OU’s class. Kingfisher (Okla.) High’s Bijan Cortes and Waxahachie (Texas) High’s C.J. Noland already had signed in November.
Both Cortes and Noland have reconfirmed their commitment and will play for Moser.
Mason went public with the announcement last Wednesday evening, but he admitted he had actually committed to Moser and OU a couple of days before. Mason said Moser asked him to wait until Moser’s introductory press conference.
After that? Game on.
“It was amazing. A feeling of joy, relief, everything,” Mason said. “I’m super excited to see I have a new home and excited to start a new journey. Words couldn’t really express what that night was like.”
Mason is another combo guard, somebody who can be as effective running the point as they can playing off the ball and making things happen.
He said Moser was really high on Mason’s ability to fit in with Moser’s style of play and Mason’s ability to break down defenses and get downhill.
That’s on the court stuff, and Mason is happy with the way things went during his senior season. But it was his maturation off the court that Mason really took pride in.
“The biggest thing for me was trying to help the younger guys out,” Mason said. “I wanted to get all the younger guys to understand. I wanted to be a leader for them.”
Though everything is slowly starting to get back to normal from COVID-19, the recruiting process for 2021 prospects won’t in time.
Mason’s reality was that he simply never got to visit any of his top schools and had to take a leap of faith. He’s hoping that with OU being closer to Overland Park than Chicago that it’s another sign of this being the right fit.
“I’m not sure if I’m going to get to visit, but that’s just the way it’s been,” Mason said. “It’s been a leap of faith every step of the way. I definitely feel like Oklahoma is a great environment and is going to be a great place for me.”