coaches corner

link year prep to AP SEC Player of the year to nba

I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I MET MASON JONES. HE WAS OVERWEIGHT, BUT CARRIED WITH HIM A TON OF ENERGY AND PASSION FOR LIFE. I TOLD HIM WE NEEDED TO GET 15-20 POUNDS OFF OF HIM IF HE WAS GOING TO BE A DIVISION 1 BASKETBALL PLAYER. HE TOLD ME, “I’M READY COACH!” THE NEXT MORNING HE WAS UP AT 5:30 A.M. GETTING AFTER IT WITH ME AND HAS NEVER LOOKED BACK SINCE.

SURE, LIKE EVERY 18/19 YEAR OLD, MASON HAD HIS SHARE OF KNUCKLEHEAD MOMENTS WHILE HE WAS WITH US AT LINK YEAR PREP, BUT ONE THING THAT WAS CONSISTENT WAS HIS DRIVE, WORK ETHIC, AND DETERMINATION. WHETHER IN THE WEIGHT ROOM OR AT PRACTICE THE KID HATED TO LOSE OR ALLOW ANYONE TO OUT PERFORM HIM.

IN THE FALL WE HAVE OVER 100 DIVISION 1 COACHES THAT WILL COME THROUGH OUR PRACTICES AND EVALUATE OUR PLAYERS, AND THE YEAR MASON WAS HERE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM COMMENTED ON HIS WEIGHT, AND EVEN THOUGH HE WAS A SCORING MACHINE NONE OF THEM TRUSTED HIS ABILITY BECAUSE OF HIS CHUBBINESS. ALBEIT I CONTINUED TO ASSURE THEM HE IS LOSING WEIGHT AND WORKING HARD. BY THE TIME SPRING ROLLED AROUND HE HAD LOST 15LBS, WE WERE REMAKING HIS BODY, BOTH INSIDE AND OUT. HIS CHARACTER WAS BEING DEVELOPED AT A HIGH LEVEL TOO!

EVEN THOUGH MASON AND HIS 2017 TEAM (ARGUABLY THE BEST LINK PREP TEAM TO DATE) WAS HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL, WINNING OVER 30 GAMES, BEATING OVER 5 TOP 10 TEAMS THAT YEAR, AND SECURING THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, I STILL COULDN’T GET ANY COACHES TO BITE ON HIM. THAT YEAR I WITNESSED MASON ENTER A TIED BALL GAME AGAINST A REALLY GOOD JUCO team AND WATCHED HIM DROP 21 POINTS IN 5 MINUTES GOING 7/7 FROM THE 3 POINT LINE TO CLOSE OUT THE HALF. WE WENT ON TO BEAT THAT JUCO AND THEY HAVEN’T SCHEDULED US SINCE. BUT AFTER THAT GAME I KNEW THIS KID WAS SPECIAL, A TYPE OF KID THAT DOESN’T COME AROUND EVERYDAY. YET DESPITE MY BELIEF IN HIM, NO COACHES WOULD TRUST ME. ONE COACH EVEN REFERRED TO HIM AS “PORK CHOP”. I BEGGED TULSA, MISSOURI STATE, UCA, SMU, UALR, UNT, BYU, UNCG, AND UMKC TO TAKE THIS KID. NONE OF THEM WOULD TRUST ME, YET ALL OF THEM HAVE REACHED OUT TO ME SINCE AND WISHED THEY WOULD’VE!

FROM THE TIME MASON ENROLLED AT LINK YEAR, UNTIL THE TIME HE GRADUATED IN MAY HE WAS COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED FROM THE INSIDE OUT. HIS BODY WAS DIFFERENT, AND HE GOT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD RIGHT. HE WAS LASER FOCUSED. HE PUT IN COUNTLESS HOURS OF BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS TO ACCOMPLISH HIS GOALS. AND EVERY WEIGHT, CONDITIONING, PERSONAL, AND SPIRITUAL GOAL WE LAID OUT FOR HIM HE ACHIEVED. SOME OF THAT IS BECAUSE OF HIS WILL AND DETERMINATION, THE OTHER PART OF THAT I WOULD LIKE TO ATTRIBUTE TO THE HIGH LEVEL OF ACCOUNTABILITY WE PROVIDE AT LINK YEAR.

DESPITE HIS HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL AND TRANSFORMATIVE YEAR WITH US, WE STILL COULDN’T GET ONE DIVISION 1 SCHOOL TO POP! SO WE GOT HIM TO CONNORS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE. AS A FULL QUALIFIER HE ONLY NEEDED TO BE THERE FOR 1 YEAR. I FOLLOWED EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS GAMES, FACE-TIMED HIM WEEKLY, ENCOURAGED HIM NOT TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THE NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF the JUCO BASKETBALL lifestyle, and TO STAY LOCKED IN. HE HAD A PHENOMENAL REGULAR SEASON AnD ONCE AGAIN I WAS BLOWING UP PHONES TELLING COACHES THEY WOULD BE CRAZY NOT TO OFFER THIS KID. I FINALLY GOT MY FRIENDS AT UCA TO PULL THE TRIGGER. MASON JONES HAd FINALLY RECEIVED HIS FIRST DIVISION 1 OFFER. HE WORKED SO HARD FOR THIS. THAT 1 OFFER GOT THE TRAIN ROLLING. HE WENT ON TO HAVE A PHENOMENAL POST SEASON IN HUTCH.

AND THE REST IS HISTORY! REMEMBER ALL THOSE COACHES I TOLD YOU ABOUT THAT WOULDN’T TAKE HIM WHEN HE WAS AT LINK? NOW THEY WERE ALL CALLING ME, ASKING IF THEY WERE TOO LATE. BY THEN HEAD COACH OF THE ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS, MIKE ANDERSON AND I HAD ALREADY TALKED ON THE PHONE AND IT WAS ALL BUT A DONE DEAL MASON WOULD END UP A HOG. I TOLD COACH ANDERSON THE SAME THING I TOLD COUNTLESS COACHES BEFORE HIM. THIS KID HAS THE “IT” FACTOR. YOU CAN’T COACH IT, YOU CAN’T DEVELOP IT, BUT YOU DEFINITELY WANT IT ON YOUR TEAM. A YEAR LATER HE UNDERSTOOD EXACTLY WHAT I WAS SAYING.

I CONCLUDE WITH THIS, HOW DID MASON JONES GO FROM AN UNRANKED, CHUBBY, OVERLOOKED BASKETBALL PLAYER AT PREP SCHOOL TO THE SEC POY? I BELIEVE IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE 7 FOLLOWING THINGS:

1. HE GOT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD RIGHT.

2. HE WORKED HIS TAIL OFF AND REFUSED TO SETTLE. (6 A.M. WORKOUTS, SUMMER WORKOUTS, FRIDAY NIGHT WORKOUTS.)

3. HE CHANGED HIS EATING AND WORK HABITS.

4. HE ELIMINATED OUTSIDE NOISE AND NEGATIVE ENERGY.

5. HE FULLY TRUSTED THE PROCESS.

6. HE WASN’T DISTRACTED BY SOCIAL MEDIA, RANKINGS, AND OFFERS.

7. HE GOT THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN HIS CORNER, AND STAYED AWAY FROM PEOPLE NOT GOING WHERE HE WAS GOING!

I’M OBVIOUSLY BIASED AND BELIEVE THAT LINK YEAR PREP PLAYED A HUGE ROLE IN WHERE MASON JONES IS TODAY, BUT REGARDLESS OF OUR FACILITIES, RESOURCES, AND ABILITY TO DEVELOP PLAYERS, MASON STILL DESERVES ALL THE CREDIT FOR PUTTING IN THE HARD WORK AND UTILIZING HIS OPPORTUNITIES TO THE FULLEST. SURE WE HAVE HAD PLAYERS JUST AS TALENTED AS MASON COME THROUGH HERE, I’M NOT SURE WE’VE EVER HAD one WITH MORE DETERMINATION AND WILL. HE LIVES WITH A CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER TO PROVE EVERYONE WRONG WHO HAS OVERLOOKED HIM AND CASTED HIM IN HIS SIBLINGS SHADOWS. MASE, WE NEVER OVERLOOKED YOU, WE’VE ALWAYS BELIEVED, AND WE STILL BELIEVE! THE BEST IS YET TO COME.

WRITTEN BY COACH DONYES