Nate Mason-Andre Hollins comparison

I think it is safe to presume Nate Mason is the best player on the Gophers. In fact, one could argue Nate Mason has been the best player on the Gophers since his freshman year.

Mason really did have an impressive rookie season. The year Hollins went down with that ankle injury, an injury he didn't really recover from, Mason stepped in easily, which is incredible considering Hollins had, at that point, proven himself to be one of the best Gophers of my generation.

Mason finished his freshman season shooting .409 from the field and .389 from 3, averaging 9.8 points per game and 2.8 assists.

For reference, that same season, Hollins was .377 from the field and .349 from 3, averaging 13.6 points per game and 2.4 assists.

Mason averaged 4 less minutes per game (26.5) than Hollins (30.5) did that season.

In the 2015-2016 campaign (last year), Mason truly had a sophomore slump. His minutes increased significantly, playing 6 more minutes per game than his freshman year (32.5), but, other than points per game, his stats dropped significantly. His field goal percentage fell to .389. His 3 point percentage was bad: .302. His assist rate remained mostly the same. We all know that Mason had some off the court issues last season, and the overall talent on the team was pretty awful, so obviously a PG is going to struggle with those issues.

However, I don't think I need to remind everyone how great Andre Hollins was his sophomore year, virtually leading the team to the NCAA tournament. Shooting .416 from the field and .418 from 3. Averaging 14.6 points per game to go with 3.4 assists. Hollins was truly amazing.

Now we are in the midst of Mason's Jr. season, and, so far, he is playing at the level Hollins was at his sophomore year.

Mason is .416 from the field and .455 from 3. Averaging 12.9 points per game to go with 5.2 assists.

Obviously, we are still in non-conference play, so the stats are going to be inflated as we play against inferior opponents. Nevertheless, it's worth pointing out that Mason has already attempted 44 3s this season and is making 45% of them.

If Mason can keep up his play into the Big 10 schedule, I have no doubt that this team can make the NCAA tournament. The luxury of having a great PG is invaluable, and Mason has quietly been that guy for the Gophers.

I draw the comparison to Hollins mostly because they are the same player. Hollins was definitely bigger than Mason, but both are combo guards who can be the primary ballhandler if need be, but may actually be more lethal from the SG spot if there was a competent PG to feed him. It will be exciting to see Mason next year as a senior with a true PG in Washington coming in take some minutes at the 1, allowing Mason to slide over to the 2.

In the meantime, does anyone here think Mason has a chance of playing onto an All Big Ten team?

Absolutely. You can throw McBrayer and Coffey in that mix also

Eye test has Hollins the better shooter and Mason with better pure point skills. Andre was always more valuable when he was not primary ball handler. Clearly Nate is comfortable with the ball and being the team's best shooter.

Interesting. Not that Nate isn't a solid ball player, but I don't understand the showers of praise that Nate gets on this board.

Oh well, the team has only 1 loss and fans are right to have renewed excitement in this holiday season. Carry on!

cncmin said:

Interesting. Not that Nate isn't a solid ball player, but I don't understand the showers of praise that Nate gets on this board.

Oh well, the team has only 1 loss and fans are right to have renewed excitement in this holiday season. Carry on!

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Nate is on pace for 1000+ points and 500 assists, if he averages around 5 assists per game for the rest of his Gopher career. Only Arriel McDonald has done that in program history.

Holy Man said:

Eye test has Hollins the better shooter and Mason with better pure point skills. Andre was always more valuable when he was not primary ball handler. Clearly Nate is comfortable with the ball and being the team's best shooter.

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Except that andre best year he was pg...

Nate has always stood up and been the go to guy when the team needed a bucket. He is the team leader and best player. He deserves the credit he gets on this board.

Best part is there are four other guys just as good. I like what I see

Here is what a lot of folks enjoy about Nate Mason... the invisible attribute.

It is what we do NOT see - Turnovers.

The guy has been very solid all around. Congratulations on his hard work paying off in every aspect of the game.

nice post

Good points. They appear to be similar sized 6-2 190. Mason actually reminds me a bit of Devoe Joseph in that he isnt super fast but he creates seperation for a very nice 15 foot step back jumper. If the gophers make the ncaa i could see Mason making 3rd team. We have a very balanced scoring roster.

Lakers612 said:

I think it is safe to presume Nate Mason is the best player on the Gophers. In fact, one could argue Nate Mason has been the best player on the Gophers since his freshman year.

Mason really did have an impressive rookie season. The year Hollins went down with that ankle injury, an injury he didn't really recover from, Mason stepped in easily, which is incredible considering Hollins had, at that point, proven himself to be one of the best Gophers of my generation.

Mason finished his freshman season shooting .409 from the field and .389 from 3, averaging 9.8 points per game and 2.8 assists.

For reference, that same season, Hollins was .377 from the field and .349 from 3, averaging 13.6 points per game and 2.4 assists.

Mason averaged 4 less minutes per game (26.5) than Hollins (30.5) did that season.

In the 2015-2016 campaign (last year), Mason truly had a sophomore slump. His minutes increased significantly, playing 6 more minutes per game than his freshman year (32.5), but, other than points per game, his stats dropped significantly. His field goal percentage fell to .389. His 3 point percentage was bad: .302. His assist rate remained mostly the same. We all know that Mason had some off the court issues last season, and the overall talent on the team was pretty awful, so obviously a PG is going to struggle with those issues.

However, I don't think I need to remind everyone how great Andre Hollins was his sophomore year, virtually leading the team to the NCAA tournament. Shooting .416 from the field and .418 from 3. Averaging 14.6 points per game to go with 3.4 assists. Hollins was truly amazing.

Now we are in the midst of Mason's Jr. season, and, so far, he is playing at the level Hollins was at his sophomore year.

Mason is .416 from the field and .455 from 3. Averaging 12.9 points per game to go with 5.2 assists.

Obviously, we are still in non-conference play, so the stats are going to be inflated as we play against inferior opponents. Nevertheless, it's worth pointing out that Mason has already attempted 44 3s this season and is making 45% of them.

If Mason can keep up his play into the Big 10 schedule, I have no doubt that this team can make the NCAA tournament. The luxury of having a great PG is invaluable, and Mason has quietly been that guy for the Gophers.

I draw the comparison to Hollins mostly because they are the same player. Hollins was definitely bigger than Mason, but both are combo guards who can be the primary ballhandler if need be, but may actually be more lethal from the SG spot if there was a competent PG to feed him. It will be exciting to see Mason next year as a senior with a true PG in Washington coming in take some minutes at the 1, allowing Mason to slide over to the 2.

In the meantime, does anyone here think Mason has a chance of playing onto an All Big Ten team?

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At his best, Hollins was better, but Mason seems less prone to disappearing for long stretches. That could just be my memory though.

DeathClutch said:

Nate is on pace for 1000+ points and 500 assists, if he averages around 5 assists per game for the rest of his Gopher career. Only Arriel McDonald has done that in program history.

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He's going to get 1,000 points this year, could get to 1,200 if all goes well. Mason could be a 1,500 point 500 assist player when he leaves. Someone mentioned aove in terms of the eye test, pre injury Andre was a much better athlete and Andre always had a better shot, but Mason is smarter with the ball and facilitating the offense. mason is quicker than post injury Andre

bemidjigopher said:

He's going to get 1,000 points this year, could get to 1,200 if all goes well. Mason could be a 1,500 point 500 assist player when he leaves. Someone mentioned aove in terms of the eye test, pre injury Andre was a much better athlete and Andre always had a better shot, but Mason is smarter with the ball and facilitating the offense. mason is quicker than post injury Andre

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Yeah this is how I see it. Andrew was incredible preinjury. I hope he is fully recovered now and playing well in europe. He deserves it.

Lakers612 said:

Yeah this is how I see it. Andrew was incredible preinjury. I hope he is fully recovered now and playing well in europe. He deserves it.

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Dre was a really good player pre injury and not the same post injury. I still think it was done deliberately by the Wisconsin player (Gasser?).