Yale point guard Makai Mason is out for the season after suffering a foot injury during the team’s scrimmage against Boston U. over the weekend.
He averaged 16.0 points and 3.8 assists last season.
According to a source, Mason dislocated his toe, suffered fractures in his foot and is dealing with ligament damage as well. He will have to undergo surgery, and the recovery time is five months.
Mason, a 6-foot-1 sophomore from California, was a second-team Preseason Mid-Major All-American and one of the stars of last year’s NCAA tournament; he had 31 points in an opening round upset win over No. 5 seed Baylor. With Justin Sears and Brandon Sherrod graduating, Yale was counting heavily on Mason to carry them as they try to defend their Ivy League title.
The injury also shines yet another light on an awful Ivy League rule that forbids players from redshirting in the league. There is a month left in the semester, but if Mason does not withdraw from school, the junior will lose a year of eligibility at the program. The same thing happened to Harvard point guard Siyani Chambers last season. It’s a constant issue within the league, and it’s probably worth noting here that Mason is not on scholarship at Yale; his family is paying his tuition.