Yale junior point guard Makai Mason’s season came to an end less than a week before it was slated to begin when he suffered a broken foot Saturday during a scrimmage against Boston University.
The Greenfield native and Yale’s leading scorer and assist man will have season-ending foot surgery.
Mason burst onto the national stage last season when he helped lead the Bulldogs to the Ivy League regular-season championship and a berth in the NCAA Men’s Tournament. The 6-foot-1 Mason averaged 16 points and 3.8 rebounds per game to lead Yale in both categories during the regular season, helping him earn first-team All-Ivy League honors.
His coming-out party came in the first round of the tournament when he scored a team tournament-record 31 points and helped the 12th-seeded Bulldogs to a 79-75 upset win over fifth-seeded Baylor. The victory was the first NCAA tournament win in the 121-year history of the program. Yale was eliminated in the second round by Duke, 71-64.
Mason declared for the NBA draft in the spring to test the waters but withdrew prior to the draft deadline so he could return to Yale this season.
This was supposed to be another successful season for both Mason and Yale, despite the team’s loss of some key seniors. The Bulldogs ended last season ranked 23rd in the final USA Today Coaches’ Poll last season, and garnered six votes in this year’s preseason poll. Yale was also picked to finish third in the Ivy League this season, behind preseason favorite Princeton (which finished second to Yale last season) and Harvard.
Making matters worse for Mason and Yale is that the Ivy League does not allow players to redshirt, which is when a player takes a year off due to injury or to develop but does not lose a year of eligibility. There is, however, a waiver process that the team will look into if a player needs to take a leave of absence from the team and the school due to a medical issue. Mason’s father, Dan, said the only thing the family is concerned with at the moment is the healing process.
“Right now we are just focused on having the surgery and getting Makai healthy again,” Dan Mason said Wednesday.
A familiar name to local basketball fans will be taking over as the Yale point guard, according to Yale coach James Jones. Former Northfield Mount Hermon School star and Bulldog senior Anthony Dallier will start at the point after he averaged 5 points per game as a junior primarily coming off the bench last season.