Scholastic Notebook – 01/28/2011

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, January 28, 2011 | 12:00 AM

Micah Mason’s basketball scoring and shooting statistics are eye-opening and surreal in some games. But another offensive statistic associated with Mason has been overlooked, but also is extremely impressive with the junior guard at Highlands High School.

Mason is averaging 8.3 assists a game.

It proves Mason is more than just a scoring machine. Eight assists a game is pretty impressive for a high school player. To put that in perspective, the leaders in assists in the entire country for NCAA Division I basketball are Scott Machado of Iona and D.J. Cooper of Ohio. They both average 7.9 assists.

On Tuesday night, Mason had a game for the ages, scoring 64 points against Valley in a game broadcast here on MSA Sports (you can go back and listen to the archive anytime you want). It was the second-highest point total in WPIAL history. The record was 71 by Larry Hardesty of Mohawk in 1959. For the year, Mason is averaging 35.5 points a game. But please don’t call him a “gunner.” He is averaging only 20 shots a game. That’s a lot of points to score on 20 shots a game.

Mason is shooting 58 percent from the field, 49 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free-throw line. His statistics are comparable to those last year of Chartiers Valley’s T.J. McConnell, who is now at Duquesne University. McConnell had one of the greatest seasons in WPIAL history a year ago and was the first WPIAL player to score 1,000 points in a single season. McConnell averaged 34 points a game, including the postseason, shot 61 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line. McConnell, though, averaged 6 steals a game. Mason averages 2 steals.

Scoring Sensations

There have been a number of impressive scoring performances by individuals this season

Tags: Highlands