Mason Jones sat near the right block of the far side practice court in the Don Shondell Practice Facility, shoving a basketball back and forth on his right foot. His Nike shoes controlled the ball’s movement, a skill Jones adopts well when trying to pry the ball away from his opponents.
Just like his play style, his attire was simple — a plain, black T-shirt.
His teeth shined bright white when he talked about earning a starting role for Ball State men’s basketball in his first year at the university. His mother, Kassey Jones, could hardly speak as she held back tears.
“He was so excited,” Kassey said. “Just knowing all the hard work that he's been putting in for years is paying off.”
Mason said he didn’t expect to start right away for the Cardinals, and neither did anyone else in his family. He feels his defense is the biggest reason why, and credited that to the learning curve on positioning he had to endure after joining the program.
“Making that instinct instead of thinking about it was the big part for me because sometimes I knew what to do, but it just wouldn't come fast enough,” Mason said.
But Mason said he doesn’t just want to be known as ‘The Guy Who Plays Hard.’ While he recognized a step up in the caliber of competition from high school to college, he said his transition between the two was made easier thanks to his family’s experience in Division I sports.
Mason is the fourth member of his immediate family to play Division I sports. His mother played softball at Indiana University, the same school where his brother, Cooper, currently plays football and Mason’s father, Eric, played football at the University of Notre Dame.
“I don't think there was a specific moment where I was like, ‘Holy shit, this is the real thing now,’” Mason said.
A sports family
While he grew up playing baseball and football, it was basketball that Mason fell in love with in sixth grade. Although he began playing the sport later than his other extracurriculars, he knew right away it was his favorite.
Mason said his family was surprised by his decision to quit football after his sophomore season to focus solely on basketball, but they were completely supportive of his passion. He said his favorite part about basketball has always been how he can hit the court every day and see himself progress, while he couldn’t do so as easily on the turf.
“He just has that desire,” Kassey said. “He has that burn in his belly for the game.”
Mason is no stranger to prominent roles on the court, as he was one of few nominees up for the Indiana Mr. Basketball high school basketball award during his senior season at Valparaiso High School.
When he was first nominated, he said he didn’t realize notable names such as Oscar Robertson, George McGinnis and Greg Oden had won the award before. However, he quickly began to realize the significance and legacy it carries.
“It was truly a blessing,” Mason said.
And he was sure not to let it become a distraction.
“I'd say more of it was a motivation, because if people were putting their interests and their free time into me, I feel like they deserve my best effort,” Mason said.
While Eric was more focused on preparing Mason for athletic success, Mason said Kassey was always pushing him to be his best in the classroom. Mason is majoring in elementary education, which Kassey traces back to his instant connection with children as a young teenager.
“Kids just flock to him,” Kassey said. “He just has a special way with kids; the kids will be lucky to have him as a teacher.”
Although they are separated by more than three hours, Kassey and Eric still embrace their roles as parents to Cooper and Mason, attending every weekend game at Worthen Arena and even traveling to road games on the weekends if they can. While Eric still maintains the mentality of a coach, offering advice to Mason after games, win or loss, Kassey said she tries to provide emotional support or encouragement from afar.
“He's no longer a freshman on that team,” Kassey said. “There's trust, there's respect, and he's worked hard to deserve that.”
Never a question
Although he was recruited by other Mid-American Conference (MAC) schools, Mason said Ball State landed his first college visit. He had never been to Muncie, Indiana, before the visit, but fell in love with the coaching style of head coach Michael Lewis and the deal was all but sealed.
“Once they officially offered, I knew there was no question I'd be here,” Mason said.
Mason said Eric told him from an early age, ‘Everything should be a competition,’ so Mason’s hard-working nature made an impression on Lewis, frequently citing Mason’s high motor as the reason for his 18 starts in 26 games. Mason likened his relationship with Lewis to that of a father and son and jokingly hoped Lewis agreed.
Although he credited his player development to Lewis’ basketball IQ, he said it’s the off-the-court lessons that he has learned even more from.
“You gotta realize the ball is gonna stop bouncing one day, but the things you learn in basketball, and the mentalities and the discipline, really teach you how to apply that to other life skills,” Mason said.
He values his relationship with Lewis highly but also credited teammates like junior guards Jalin Anderson and Davion Bailey with helping him off the court just as much as on. Additionally, Mason has formed friendships through sharing a dorm complex with fellow freshmen Jurica Zagorsak, Zane Doughty, Trent Middleton Jr. and his roommate, Joey Brown. He laughed as he talked about the importance of team bonding through video games like Fortnite.
After starting more than half of Ball State’s games this season, Mason still wants to continue his trend upward and help the Cardinals improve as a whole.
“We need to put together more 40-minute games with more discipline,” he said. “I think a lot of our losses are us beating ourselves.”
Mason has experienced 13 wins and 13 losses at the collegiate level, both of which come with much stronger emotions than he felt at Valparaiso.
“College basketball wins are hard to come by, and we know that you got to earn it,” he said.
The feeling of a loss is much more extreme.
“It’s like your dog died,” Mason said. “It eats at you because you know what you did wrong, and you feel like you let people down, and it's a feeling you hate, but it also drives you to get better at what you do the next game.”
A 15-year screensaver
Mason started fast-tracking his opportunities for academic success and leadership roles when he joined Ball State’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee when the fall 2023 semester began. He isn’t new to student organizations or leadership roles either, as he was a frequent member of Valparaiso’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).
Although Mason didn’t find his consistent faith as a Christian until he was a teenager, his uncle, Scott Jones, and his grandmother, Mildred Armato, helped guide him there.
Scott is the lead pastor at South Haven Nazarene Church, the same congregation Armato attends. Mason began to inquire about Armato’s experience at church and regularly started attending with her.
He said he felt like he needed a change in his life at the time, one that would help him focus on achieving the athletic and academic goals he was failing to reach.
“I knew I had more in me,” Mason said.
While junior forward Basheer Jihad’s Muslim faith is different from Mason’s Christian identity, Mason said his faith helps ground him on the court in a similar way to his teammate.
“I feel like Jesus has called me to play basketball as well as be a great human being,” he said.
When Armato heard Mason talk about the impact his faith makes on the court, she was delighted. She may have been even happier when she heard Mason called her his best friend.
“I have seven grandchildren, they're all different, but on my screensaver on my phone to this day I have a picture of Mason kissing me on the cheek in the doggone bleachers,” Armato said.
Now that they live hours apart, Mason said he calls Armato every day to check up on her. Armato said she never doubted that he would do so.
“I need to hear from him, and I think he needs to hear from me just to know that I'm okay,” she said.
Mason said Armato came to every home game he played at Valparaiso, even when her health began to fail her due to two knee replacements and back trouble, and she had to start relying on a cane to move around.
“For her to go through that effort to come watch me and be proud of me no matter what happens, because she knows I’m trying my best and working hard, it's comforting,” he said.
Armato called her relationship with Mason “spontaneous,” one based on having fun and laughing together. Although they don’t see each other often anymore, Armato said she used to babysit Mason and Cooper five days a week when they were growing up, helping raise them while their parents were at work.
“He's still a kid at heart in a lot of ways,” Armato said. “He just likes people to be happy. He likes to be happy, and he likes to have fun.”
Armato can’t see Mason play in person as much as she used to due to lingering health issues, but she’ll always have her screensaver to remind her of the countless hours spent in the bleachers.
“Just think of all the memories you have of your grandparents that nobody else can take from you,” Armato said. “Those are moments that you share that you'll have for the rest of your life.”
Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kyle.smedley@bsu.edu or on X @KyleSmedley_.
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