Mason Walters (206-F-2001, college: Wyoming, agency: One Motive Sports) is a 23 year 206cm forward that just completed his university career in the United States and now is preparing to sign with a professional team. He began his basketball career with Jamestown high school averaging 21.1ppg, 11.9rpg; and led his team had a perfect 27-0 record. He then played at the University of Jamestown (NAIA) from 2019-2023 playing a total of 119 games. He was able to improve his scoring average each season from 22 to 24 to 26ppg. He played at extra year at the University of Wyoming (NCAA) averaging 12,2ppg, 5,4rpg, 2,0apg and 1,0spg. He spoke to germanhoops.com in late spring about his basketball career.

Thanks Mason for talking to germanhoops.com. When you began at Jamestown (NAIA) in 2019, did you ever have any thoughts about latter becoming a pro player? The dreams are there, but did you feel like it could be reality if all panned out in school?

I have always dreamed about being a professional basketball player but the reality of it never really sank it until my sophomore or junior year of college. I’m very blessed to have an opportunity now to fulfill this dream and I’m very excited.

You are finished with school and now are preparing to become a professional. There is a lot of work. What are you looking forward to most?

I’m looking forward to the process of getting better, I feel like I have different areas in my game that I can really improve on and I’m looking forward to that

You signed with One Motive Sports and with founder Drew Kelso. Could one almost say like the name family could be his middle name?

Very much so! Drew has been someone that has been in my corner for some time and I’m very lucky to have him in my corner helping me navigate this process and being there for me along this journey

Drew Kelso has a great track record of placing players around the world and the NBA. What grabbed your attention most about how he handles young men coming from schooi?
Something that stood out to me about Drew was just the level of commitment and the relationship that we were able to form, it truly felt like a family from the beginning.

You will be preparing for the One Motive Showcase in May. How excited are you for that? Will you have a certain work out plan that you will be following or a lot of what you did in school?

I’m extremely excited to be able to see how I stack up and to be able to showcase my skills. I plan on doing a lot of what I have been doing the past couple years in terms of training and fine tuning different parts of my game.

The NBA Summer League is always an option, but difficult to get in. Would a NBA Summer League invitation be like an early birthday present?

That would be an unreal opportunity and experience and something that would mean the world to me and something that I’m going to have as a goal of mine going into training.

Your not thinking about overseas yet, but what do you know about overseas basketball? Possibly that Germany are world champions?

I was able to watch a decent amount of overseas basketball my last year of college with Coach Linder and the coaching staff at Wyoming. I think my game really fits that style of basketball and if that is where I end up I think it will translate very well.

You had a stellar NAIA career and had to pay your dues and then played a solid NCAA season. How big is your chip on your shoulder? Do you feel you may be a little off the radar?

I think I have always played with a chip on my shoulder coming from an NAIA school and not having very many looks out of high school and I think that is something that I will always play with the rest of my career

Let’s talk about your game. You’re a 206cm forward. If you had to compare your game to an NBA player who would best fit the description?
I would say I would compare my game similar to a young Kevin Love in terms of being able to play back to the basket, rebound, and shoot the 3.

Is it fair to say that your a modern day forward? What is your biggest strength on the court?

Yes definetly, I would say my biggest strength is my back to the basket game being able to create for others as well as score out of the post.

You have had an up and down three pointer but hit 40% in a season a few times. Where do you see the development of your three right now?

I think that the biggest thing was getting my shot off against taller defenders this past year but I started to get more comfortable as the season went on, so I’m really looking forward to improving on that over the summer as well.

What kind of a defender are you now and what kind of a defender do you still want to become?

I’m always looking to improve and get better in different areas of my game so I think being able to switch 1-4 and guard is something that I will look to improve on. I think I took a big step this past year and am looking to do the same again this coming year

On what areas of your game are you working on most at the moment?

The two biggest areas I want to improve on is my shooting ability as well as being able to handle the ball at a higher level.

You played at the University of Jamestown (NAIA) from 2019-2023 and put up huge stats and twice averaged double double stats. How important was it being able to develop consistency at a young age?

At the University of Jamestown I had a lot of freedom to develop my game which I’m very appreciative of and I think it benefited me greatly over my career as they were able to put me in different positions to improve.

You reached the NAIA Elite 8 in 2021 losing to Shawnee State. What memories do you have of this run?

I look back at my time at Jamestown and I have a lot of great memories with my teammates and coaches and I was very lucky to have a lot of success with great people and to play in front of my hometown. I wouldn’t trade it for the world and I will enjoy those memories and friendships forever.

You had so many great games at Jamestown including countless 30 point games, games with 20 or more rebounds and even a 40 point game. What do you remember being your best game?

I had a lot of games that stick out to me but I think my favorite games were my senior year when we played Bethel and Peru State at the opening round of the national tournament. I was playing with a stress fracture in my foot and we were able to come away with two wins and advance to Kansas City for the 3rd year in a row. It was an awesome way to finish my career at Jamestown

How important was head coach Danny Neville for your early basketball development at Jamestown. Into what kind of player did he guide you?

Coach Neville was a big part of my development as a basketball player and we had a lot of time that we spent in the gym working out and I’m very thankful for that.

At Wyoming you averaged 12,2ppg, 5,4rpg and 2,0apg and 1,0spg. How important was it not only playing an extra year but at the NCAA level? What did you learn about yourself and the grind?

I was lucky to have the opportunity to play another year of college basketball but also was in a great program like Wyoming with a great coach and great teammates. I learned different things that will be very beneficial for my career that I didn’t know before being there and I will forever appreciate everyone in Laramie.

You had many great games there including hitting Air Force for 22 points. What was your most memorable moment there

My most memorable moment was during the Border War and coming back down 11 points under a minute against CSU, it was such a great win and showed the fight and belief that our team had.

How did head coach Jeff Linder groom and prepare you bets for a professional career?

Coach Linder really helped show me the mental side of the game and being able to understand spacing, how to attack coverages, and different reads that will be very beneficial in my career. He truly is a basketball genius and I’m lucky to have been coached by him.

Who won a 1-1 in practice you or Caden Powell?

We had some battles but I’m taking me haha, that’s my guy!

Who was the toughest player that you faced in your career at some point that reached the NBA?

EJ Onu for Shawnee State was the best player that I personally had to guard/play.

Please name your 5 best teammates of all-time?

My best teammates in terms of skill I got to go with Sam Griffin, Akuel Kot, Marc Kjos, and Boden Skunberg.

Please list your personal NBA Mount Rushmore?

MJ, Kobe, Lebron

Who is your GOAT?

MJ no question.

Thanks Mason for the chat.