Photo by: Eddie Shabomardenly
Madsen Kickstarts BC's Offense Ahead Of FSU
February 19, 2024 | Men's Basketball, #ForBoston Files
The Cincinnati transfer is all smiles after last weekend's 25-point performance
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Neither Boston College nor Miami was able to deliver a knockout shot to one another as the second half of last Saturday's game drew to a close. A series of mini-runs prevented either team from running away from the other, but playing without starting point guard Nijel Pack did nothing to stop the Hurricanes from making a case in those closing minutes. A pair of 3-pointers preceded a foul shot that built a five-point lead, and the Conte Forum scoreboard felt like it was starting to slip away from the Eagles' feisty performance that produced an early first half run.
BC needed to replicate its luck from the start of the second half, and after Quinten Post's pair of free throws preceded a steal-and-score between Devin McGlockton and Jaeden Zackery, a Claudell Harris second chance layup reeled Miami onto its heels. There had been a pair of missed layups to retake the lead, and as BC ran its transition outlet, the Hurricanes failed to get back in time to stop an uncontested look from outside.
Worse yet, the player who was left by himself was Mason Madsen, the sharpshooting specialist who previously drained six different three-pointers against the Miami defense. Nobody switched onto his assignment, and when he released the shot from the outer elbow, the bench erupted before the ball even hit the bottom of the cup. McGlockton raised his arms inside the paint, and Madsen, backpedaled into defensive position with the same exuberant look he'd worn for much of the game.
A free spirit by nature, he'd enjoyed every second of BC's eventual eight-point win over Miami. The tongue wags and flowing hair masked by a headband and manbun were all part of the experience for him and his game-high 25 points, and while the game had been his fourth straight start for the Eagles, the experience told a story of a player who was living his best life - on and off the court.
"I think his best basketball is still to come," head coach Earl Grant said after Saturday's win. "I think he's starting to play good basketball while healthy, and he's a part of that saying to 'play your best in March.' He's pursued upward mobility in terms of being able to produce and understand the system while being a good leader, and he's continued to move in the right direction. I'm really happy for him."
Madsen's story became well-known in college basketball circles after his preseason revelation that he'd been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, an autoimmune disease causing inflammation in the joints and spine. Having been tested several times for various conditions, the diagnosis and its subsequent medication regimen allowed him to begin pursuing daily life without pain after he would routinely wake up in an unimaginable situation for a college basketball athlete more accustomed to daily routines and habits.
The correction lifted a lid on a sharpshooting Cincinnati transfer that physically prevented him from even scratching his true potential in his first three seasons. A player that scored 10 points in less than a handful of games over two seasons with the Bearcats barely reached the mark in four separate games in his first season under Grant's tutelage, and his shooting percentage plummeted to 35 percent due to a 30 percent clip from outside.
"He played all year last year with pain," Grant said. "We had a conversation in early December of last season about having a surgery that would have taken six to eight weeks [to recover], but he just wanted to play. So he showed great toughness, and it took him a while to get back onto the court. He didn't play on our foreign tour at all, and I know he's even still recovering [from his injuries and pain]."
Recovery has been an ongoing process, but Madsen's initial role as a sixth man playing long minutes off the bench is now transitioning him into one of the ACC's most dangerous outside shooters. Saturday's win was his fourth consecutive game with at least 10 points, and since entering the starting lineup three games ago, his per-game averages jumped to 17 points, four rebounds, 2.3 assists and one steal.Â
His assist-to-turnover ratio over that same period is nearly 3.5:1, and in four games as a member of the starting five, he's lifted his scoring average from 6.1 points in 17 minutes off the bench to nearly 16.3 points per game while ranking second and third on the team in field goal percentage and three-point field goals made, respectively.
"Words can't really describe the feeling," Madsen said. "I've been through so much even before I got here. In the two years prior to being here, there were ups and downs in my career where I'd ask if it was really worth it. There was a time where the pain was every day, so I don't really have words. It's just really awesome."
All of this, of course, is a combined effort that stems from his ability to continue working on a daily basis. His increasingly impressive production isn't linked to simply flicking a switch to gain numbers, and Grant, Post, and even Madsen himself are quick to point out the ferocity of the team's practice schedule. Being able to put the shooter in those positions is something BC hasn't been able to do while he was fighting through the constant pain, but the process of linking where he was to where he's going is now evident on a daily basis with how the team continues to push itself from within.
"Mason works hard every day," said Post. "I've seen him struggle. We live in the same house, so I've seen him go through the ups and downs, but I know that he works every single day. I'm very proud of him staying up and shooting the ball well for us. For me, it's the same thing I've tried to do - put in the work and try to be consistent every day in what I do."
"Our practices are very competitive," Grant said. "We've had eight different starters throughout the year, and it's because the practices are competitive. Guys are going after one another, but I think that iron sharpens iron. Guys get out there and compete, and Mason's one of them. It just so happened that we had a couple of little tweaks here and there that inserted him into the starting lineup, but he was giving us a great boost off the bench. Now he's just giving it to us out of a starting role."
BC returns to the court tonight when the Eagles play Florida State. Game time is set for 7 p.m. from the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida with television coverage scheduled for ACC Network. Additional radio coverage is available through the Boston College Sports Network from Learfield, available locally in Boston on WEEI 850 AM with satellite options on SiriusXM channel 386 and App channel 986. Streaming audio is also available through The Varsity Network.
BC needed to replicate its luck from the start of the second half, and after Quinten Post's pair of free throws preceded a steal-and-score between Devin McGlockton and Jaeden Zackery, a Claudell Harris second chance layup reeled Miami onto its heels. There had been a pair of missed layups to retake the lead, and as BC ran its transition outlet, the Hurricanes failed to get back in time to stop an uncontested look from outside.
Worse yet, the player who was left by himself was Mason Madsen, the sharpshooting specialist who previously drained six different three-pointers against the Miami defense. Nobody switched onto his assignment, and when he released the shot from the outer elbow, the bench erupted before the ball even hit the bottom of the cup. McGlockton raised his arms inside the paint, and Madsen, backpedaled into defensive position with the same exuberant look he'd worn for much of the game.
A free spirit by nature, he'd enjoyed every second of BC's eventual eight-point win over Miami. The tongue wags and flowing hair masked by a headband and manbun were all part of the experience for him and his game-high 25 points, and while the game had been his fourth straight start for the Eagles, the experience told a story of a player who was living his best life - on and off the court.
"I think his best basketball is still to come," head coach Earl Grant said after Saturday's win. "I think he's starting to play good basketball while healthy, and he's a part of that saying to 'play your best in March.' He's pursued upward mobility in terms of being able to produce and understand the system while being a good leader, and he's continued to move in the right direction. I'm really happy for him."
Madsen's story became well-known in college basketball circles after his preseason revelation that he'd been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, an autoimmune disease causing inflammation in the joints and spine. Having been tested several times for various conditions, the diagnosis and its subsequent medication regimen allowed him to begin pursuing daily life without pain after he would routinely wake up in an unimaginable situation for a college basketball athlete more accustomed to daily routines and habits.
The correction lifted a lid on a sharpshooting Cincinnati transfer that physically prevented him from even scratching his true potential in his first three seasons. A player that scored 10 points in less than a handful of games over two seasons with the Bearcats barely reached the mark in four separate games in his first season under Grant's tutelage, and his shooting percentage plummeted to 35 percent due to a 30 percent clip from outside.
"He played all year last year with pain," Grant said. "We had a conversation in early December of last season about having a surgery that would have taken six to eight weeks [to recover], but he just wanted to play. So he showed great toughness, and it took him a while to get back onto the court. He didn't play on our foreign tour at all, and I know he's even still recovering [from his injuries and pain]."
Recovery has been an ongoing process, but Madsen's initial role as a sixth man playing long minutes off the bench is now transitioning him into one of the ACC's most dangerous outside shooters. Saturday's win was his fourth consecutive game with at least 10 points, and since entering the starting lineup three games ago, his per-game averages jumped to 17 points, four rebounds, 2.3 assists and one steal.Â
His assist-to-turnover ratio over that same period is nearly 3.5:1, and in four games as a member of the starting five, he's lifted his scoring average from 6.1 points in 17 minutes off the bench to nearly 16.3 points per game while ranking second and third on the team in field goal percentage and three-point field goals made, respectively.
"Words can't really describe the feeling," Madsen said. "I've been through so much even before I got here. In the two years prior to being here, there were ups and downs in my career where I'd ask if it was really worth it. There was a time where the pain was every day, so I don't really have words. It's just really awesome."
All of this, of course, is a combined effort that stems from his ability to continue working on a daily basis. His increasingly impressive production isn't linked to simply flicking a switch to gain numbers, and Grant, Post, and even Madsen himself are quick to point out the ferocity of the team's practice schedule. Being able to put the shooter in those positions is something BC hasn't been able to do while he was fighting through the constant pain, but the process of linking where he was to where he's going is now evident on a daily basis with how the team continues to push itself from within.
"Mason works hard every day," said Post. "I've seen him struggle. We live in the same house, so I've seen him go through the ups and downs, but I know that he works every single day. I'm very proud of him staying up and shooting the ball well for us. For me, it's the same thing I've tried to do - put in the work and try to be consistent every day in what I do."
"Our practices are very competitive," Grant said. "We've had eight different starters throughout the year, and it's because the practices are competitive. Guys are going after one another, but I think that iron sharpens iron. Guys get out there and compete, and Mason's one of them. It just so happened that we had a couple of little tweaks here and there that inserted him into the starting lineup, but he was giving us a great boost off the bench. Now he's just giving it to us out of a starting role."
BC returns to the court tonight when the Eagles play Florida State. Game time is set for 7 p.m. from the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida with television coverage scheduled for ACC Network. Additional radio coverage is available through the Boston College Sports Network from Learfield, available locally in Boston on WEEI 850 AM with satellite options on SiriusXM channel 386 and App channel 986. Streaming audio is also available through The Varsity Network.
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