For Micah Mason, Persistence Will Always Breed Confidence
NATRONA HEIGHTS, Pa. — Micah Mason shouted in celebration after scoring his 1,000th basketball career point in a packed Highlands High School gymnasium.
“Witnessed Micah Mason’s 1,000th Point” T-shirts from 2012 live long in people’s closets, but Mason’s basketball journey was far from over.
Known as one of the best shooters in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL), Mason finished his high school career with 2,272 points and set the all-time WPIAL record for most 3-pointers made.
But before the college statistics and before his story unfolded, Mason fell in love with basketball.
“My dad loved the game of basketball,” Mason said. “From when I can remember, I had a basketball in my hand.”
At the beginning of elementary school, Mason remembers attending different basketball camps and “not being able to sleep without perfecting what he learned.”
Because his parents admired his love for the game, Mason’s dad, John, built a full-sized basketball court in their backyard. After purchasing their first shooting machine, the father-son duo promised to make 500 to 800 shots every day.
John wanted to find top-quality coach leadership for his son. John Miller, one of the best Pennsylvanian basketball coaches, was an integral part of Mason’s growth and John’s coaching.
“I learned in sales, that if you want to be the best, go find out what the best are doing and just do what they do,” John said. “What I learned from [John Miller] made the difference. We charted and timed drills for years to come.”
One of his first-ever goals was to earn a starting position on Highlands High School’s varsity basketball team, which he did. Mason finished his first varsity game with 23 points and an upset against a top-ranked rival school, Penn Hills.
After his continued success on the court, all eyes were on Mason in Natrona Heights. Mason was soon named one of the best players in western Pennsylvania, featured in Sports Illustrated, and covered by well-known Pittsburgh media outlets.
“I really just prided myself in putting in the work,” Mason said. “My dad showed me that people are starting to notice how good I was getting… I needed to continue to work on my weaknesses.”
Mason’s parents “held him accountable, but continued to breed confidence,” especially after an unexpected health diagnosis entered his life.
Going into Mason’s junior year, hip pains started to appear. The pains were so intense that Mason went in for X-rays and learned he needed hip surgery. He was diagnosed with femoral acetabular impingement; when the head of the femur bone rubs against the hip improperly and damages the hip joint.
Mason received three hip surgeries the summer before his junior season. There was doubt that he would heal in time for his 2011 season and that recruits wouldn’t see him perform, but once again, his persistence shined through.
“He had a few health setbacks while in 11th grade to the point his basketball career looked to be over. Through my faith in God, I had this peace that I can’t explain. It all turned out in a miracle way,” John said.
Throughout Mason’s junior year, he averaged 30 points a game after his surgeries, and his recruitment stream picked up. After scoring 64 points against Valley High School, he was locked in on offers. Mason was set on committing to a Division I school after receiving an offer from Drake University.
Mason committed to Drake entering his senior season. He continued to lead Highlands to success before graduating and heading to Des Moines, Iowa.
“Micah was an extension of the coaching staff on the floor. He made all of those around him better through the way he played the game… I feel Micah was underrated in two areas: athleticism, and leadership,” high school coach Shawn Bennis said. “The impressive quality Micah displayed was displaying his dedication and commitment at such a young age.”
During that same senior season, Mason was diagnosed with another surprise health issue called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, where your heart beats faster than normal when transitioning from lying down to standing up. Before heading to Drake, he needed to control two health issues.
“The head coach said, ‘No matter what, even if you never touch the court, you can have a full scholarship here at Drake. We’ll honor that,’” Mason said. “So, when [the health issues] were happening, I stayed committed to the head coach just because of what he did for me and stayed by my side.”
But when Mason got out to Drake, it wasn’t what he anticipated. From not being close to home to not receiving the best health treatment on and off the court for his freshman season, he headed back to Pittsburgh to play basketball with Duquesne University.
Mason needed two more hip surgeries when transferring to Duquesne, so being in the place where he would need to heal was ideal. From there, Mason was living out his college basketball dreams.
On August 24, 2015, Mason’s first day of senior college classes, Mason’s son Isaiah was born.
“For me, a Division I athlete, that’s 4 a.m. wake-up calls to go lift, classes and practices. Now I have a son,” Mason said. “It was an awesome joy in my life, but there was stress.”
Mason still had a chance of making it to the NBA, considering he finished at Duquesne with 1,431 points and was the sixth-best 3-point shooter in NCAA history at .463. That’s when he headed to Belgium and “lock in” to his career, especially to set a precedent for his son.
After four months in the European league, Mason recognized that being with his son meant more and decided to come home. With fate, John created Mason Elite basketball training and had a spot where Mason could lead.
Mason had a new future ahead of training athletes and building a father-son basketball relationship with Isaiah, the same way his father did with him.
Now, Mason has helped build Mason Elite to where it is today. Mason Elite has over 411,000 followers on TikTok, 16,400 followers on Instagram, trains hundreds of athletes at their in-person facility, and continues to teach basketball in a new light on social media.
“My son has really impacted how I think about basketball training. He’s proven that if you do the work, you see the results… You have to want it and understand what you want to accomplish,” Mason said.
“I really enjoy training kids to impact them to become better basketball players and better people. I want them to understand work ethic, discipline, and commitment.”
