In the 2012-2013 basketball season for Mckinney North High School, Coach Michael Oldham led the team to the Area Finals. However, Coach Michael Oldham says that the girl who really led the team might be the most talented player he’s ever seen.
“I became the Assistant Coach before her sophomore year, and her junior year I became her head coach,” Oldham said. “She was definitely one of the most talented, if not the most talented player I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach.”
Fast forward four years, and that player makes what seems to be just another three-pointer in a 77-59 win against Lamar. After the game, however, Alexis Mason found out she had just broken ACU’s career three-point record, previously held by Ashley Barron King for 11 years.
“I was shocked,” Mason said. “I had no clue I had even broken it or how close I was.”
Her old high school coach, however, had no doubt that she had. He said he had been expecting her to break every record the school had.
“She’s been a gym rat since middle school,” Oldham said. “And I can’t remember the last time I said this but I’ve said it before. She’s going to break records at that school, way more than the one she just broke.”
In an interview last year, sisters Suzzy and Lizzy Dimba had nothing but high praise for Mason, as a teammate and as a person.
“She’s unselfish, vocal, caring, and intense,” says Suzzy Dimba. “But she’s like that off the court as well. She cares about you when you’re hurt or when you need someone to lean on. She’s an incredible friend as well as a basketball player.”
Lizzy Dimba had similar statements, saying “It’s an honor to play with someone like her. She’s such a wonderful person off the court that it wouldn’t matter what she did on the court.”
In fact, women’s head basketball coach Julie Goodenough said that the graduating class this year is one of the best she’s ever coached, and Alexis Mason was a big part of that.
“Alexis had an incredible season last year,” said Goodenough. “She had a fire that I’ve rarely seen in players before, and it showed in her accolades.”
Indeed, last year Mason won the Southland Conference Player of the Year award, and that’s not her only claim to fame. She also won the conference player of the week four times, including three weeks in a row. This year she’s been plagued by injury, but is still averaging 14.8 points a game. And she has scored 20 points in each of her last two games, including a 32-point outing in her record-breaking game. She also is creeping up on ACU’s all-time scoring list, having more than 1,200 points to her name.
Mason is quick to point out that her game has evolved since she started playing at the young age of four, and thankful to a few people for that change.
“God is always number one,” Mason said. “Without him, I wouldn’t be anything. I also have to thank my family, especially my dad. He has taught me everything I know and has been there since day one. He’s taught me how to work hard, never give up, and so much more.”
Mason also points out her coaches have been a tremendous help throughout her entire career, and Coach Oldham said even though he was the coach, Alexis always had something to teach him.
“Alexis made my coaching experience so much easier than it needed to be. In fact, sometimes I felt like she was coaching me. This record couldn’t have happened to a better person.”
