After a decade of close calls and heartbreak, Bashir Mason finally gets his chance to dance

By Vincent Simone (@VTSimone)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Two years after taking over for Shaheen Holloway at Saint Peter’s, Bashir Mason has the Peacocks back in the NCAA Tournament. For Mason, however, this MAAC championship also represents his own personal breakthrough to March Madness.

After being chosen to succeed Dan Hurley at Wagner in 2012, Mason led the Seahawks to three Northeast Conference championship games in 10 years at the helm. Two of those title games were hosted at Wagner’s campus on Staten Island, but all three would end in disappointment. In the aftermath of the Peacocks’ second MAAC title in three years, Mason seemed to have a weight lifted off his shoulders.

“I’m a competitor, and to get so close so many times and not have it happen for you, you start to question yourself,” Mason said. “You start to doubt a little bit. So for me, I needed that game to validate what we do, the formula for success, that it’s not just good enough to get you there, but it’s good enough to win you that game. It meant everything to me.”

While Saint Peter’s has now become a frequent participant in March Madness, a bit of poetry played out as Mason’s old program also broke through for the first time in over two decades. Earlier this week, Donald Copeland, Mason’s successor at Wagner, led the Seahawks to their first NCAA Tournament since 2003. And approximately one hour before Saint Peter’s wrapped up its conference title win over Fairfield, Hurley had just done the same, as UConn defeated Marquette to win the Big East tournament.

“I thought about that a lot today,” Mason said of the symmetry between his past and present. “I truly believed that it was going to be Wagner makes it, we make it, and Dan Hurley — who’s my mentor — we’re going to play (UConn) in the first round of the tournament. That just came to me today, and there was just a calmness about it when I felt it.”

Over the course of a week, demons have been exorcised from Staten Island to Jersey City. Despite all the years of coming up short at Wagner, Mason felt it even sweeter to finally break through with his hometown school.

“The fact that I wasn’t able to get it done at Wagner makes it even more sweet,” Mason admitted. “What I’ve also been telling myself was I needed to go home to win it. Jersey City is my home, Saint Peter’s is my neighborhood school. The hometown kid got it done.”

As he reflected on the last two years and the unique situation of taking over the sport’s ultimate Cinderella, Mason spoke about the tall task of upholding the standard of success in Jersey City and the validation that comes along with adding another league title to the school record books.

“A lot of college basketball jobs became available, but not many programs were coming off an Elite 8 run,” Mason recalled. “For me to be selected as the person to keep the program moving in that direction was an honor. I jokingly say I guess my job here is to get us back to the Elite 8, but I also mean it. On my watch, this program wasn’t going to go in another direction.”

Part of that standard of success is constant energy from practice all the way through to games, and a level of accountability that radiates from player to player. It is a philosophy and mentality that was instilled in Mason from his playing days, when he was the linchpin of Hurley's Garden State powerhouse squads at St. Benedict’s Prep.

“I’m so proud of Bash,” Hurley said when informed that Mason and Saint Peter’s had won the MAAC tournament. “He’s always been a general. We called him the general at St. Benedict’s, and it’s fitting, man. That’s f****** awesome.”

“I’m a Tasmanian devil,” Mason said of his practice persona after Friday’s semifinal victory over Quinnipiac. “I go in there, I’m spinning, twisting, twirling, but I’m not doing it with no purpose. I’m an energy-giver. I’m not a cheerleader. The expectation with our program is if someone is giving you energy, you reflect that same energy. If you’re an energy-taker, then you can’t be a part of the program.”

Just two years after Saint Peter’s captured the hearts of America, senior guard Latrell Reid is the only player remaining who saw game action for that Cinderella squad. As Mason and the Peacocks step back into the limelight, the seasoned coach and first-time champion cannot wait to see what lies in store for the week(s) ahead.

“I hope it’s crazy,” Mason said. “I hope it’s madness. This is what I’ve been dreaming about. I want a police escort back to campus. I want those students to be out there waiting. We’re going crazy.”