Yale’s Makai Mason declares for 2016 NBA Draft

Makai Mason, who led Yale to the first NCAA Tournament win in program history this year, will test the waters of the NBA Draft.

One of the great stories from the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament was the Yale Bulldogs. After not making the tournament field since 1962, Yale pulled one of the biggest upsets of the weekend when they took down Baylor in the opening round. In the second round, Yale put up quite the fight but ultimately couldn’t get past Duke to advance to the Sweet 16.

One of the star players who helped the Bulldogs get to that point was guard Makai Mason. After averaging 16 points a game during the season, Mason dropped 31 (including a perfect 11 of 11 from the free throw line) and was the symbol of the Ivy League team’s success. Mason would only go for eight points in the second round loss, but now he is focusing on something else: a career in the NBA.

The sophomore from nearby Massachusetts is looking to become one of the few Ivy League players to make it to the pros, declaring for this June’s NBA Draft:

Statistically, Mason’s numbers this season at Yale weren’t all that eye popping. He shot 47 percent from the field to to with that points per game average. Mason averaged just under four assists a game and committed three turnovers a game on average.

Under new NCAA rules, Mason would be able to return to Yale for the 2016-17 as long as he withdrew his name from draft consideration by the middle of May and did not sign with an agent.

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