Mason Jr.
home and played this past season at Richard J. Daley.
From there, he only needed to pass a few classes to become eligible to play for Division II LeMoyne-Owen College this fall.
Mason's journey will lead him to FedExForum on Thursday night when LeMoyne-Owen faces Penny Hardaway and the Memphis men's basketball team in an exhibition game.
In between classes and basketball at Richard J. Daley, Mason said he found ways to eat by going to friends’ houses and accepting granola bars and bananas from his community college coaches.
When he returned to his parking spot, seated in the back seat and alone behind his deteriorating home, Mason spent most of his time saying no.
To the people who terrorize his crime-ridden Englewood neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. To the path to incarceration he saw so many of his friends take. And to his doubts that he may never make it out.
“And you know how hard that is to do when you have no other options?” Mason said.
He had no home, little income and very few people he could depend on. But he did have basketball.
“In college, we can’t make money. We don’t have the time for it,” Mason said. “I had my scholarship, but when that money ran out, what other resources do I have? It’s all or nothing. Basketball was literally all I had.”
At Richard J. Daley, the 6-foot-5 Mason led the NJCAA with 14.4 rebounds per game. Due to his academic situation, he was limited to playing at the Division-II level when he decided to transfer.
Mason, who is beginning his junior year, had been on LeMoyne-Owen coach William Anderson’s radar for close to two years. Anderson’s nephew coached Mason at Hyde Park High School in Chicago.
What sold Anderson and his staff was Mason’s attitude. If someone were to meet him in the basketball gym, they would have no idea what his life was like when he left.
"The first time I met him he was extremely humble," Anderson said. "I just like his work ethic, and that he was always positive on the court and very upbeat. I just knew he had the ingredients to be a part of our program."
"This program here, and all of the athletic programs here, are about giving those students a chance to make it in life, no matter their background," Anderson added.
Mason had plenty of options when deciding where to go to school given his success on the court last season. He was surprised when LeMoyne-Owen assistant coach Tony Sarwar flew to Chicago to watch one of his practices. Most of the Division II schools kept in contact with Mason over the phone.
“He said they really wanted me," Mason said. "From that point on, I knew.”
Mason decided to leave for a college and city he had never visited. Now, he said the LeMoyne-Owen basketball team is the closest thing he has to a family.
"It feels like I'm a million miles away from Chicago," Mason said. "This team is all I got. It's why I represent this team all that I can, and I represent Chicago. Because not a lot of kids in my spot end up with this opportunity."
When Mason takes the FedExForum floor Thursday night, it will be a dream realized.
“I have come a long way from sleeping in a car,” Mason said. “The feeling — sometimes I want to cry because it has been so tough — but I’m still trying to wrap my mind around it. It’s just surreal.”