Mason adjusting to life at the point

By ANDREW JOYNER
Daily Progress staff writer

It is a question that Virginia guard Roger Mason Jr. knows he likely will hear all season: How is your adjustment to playing point guard?

It is one that is asked of Mason after nearly every game, especially those in which the assist-to-turnover ratio is subpar.

The Mason-at-the-point experiment was tested just a few times during the Cavaliers’ pre-ACC non-conference slate, but with Virginia heading into its league schedule, the focus on Mason will be that much more magnified.

Through nine games, Mason is averaging 18.3 points per game and 5.9 assists per game after a 15-point, eight-assist and no turnover effort in Virginia’s 112-67 victory over Grambling State on Sunday. Mason has committed 29 turnovers against those 53 assists, but if a point guard is judged by his assist-to-turnover ratio, Mason’s is nearly 2:1.
“I think he’s improved a lot [at the point]. He still has some stuff to learn. I think he’s doing a good job and he’s a great player, no question,” said Virginia coach Pete Gillen after the Grambling State contest. “It’s on-the-job training. He has played point guard sporadically in high school and some last year.”
A big worry for Gillen, who of course says he worries about everything, has been if Mason can continue to score while playing the point. His team-leading 18.3 points per game seems to indicate that he has been able to handle those dual responsibilities.
“He’s still scoring and still shooting the ball pretty well. It’s not easy to do that,” Gillen said.
The Cavaliers are still hoping that eventually freshman Keith Jenifer will be able to relieve Mason of some of that burden and his development is on schedule, according to Gillen.
“We need Keith Jenifer to keep getting better, which I think he’s doing. We need to take some pressure off Roger so that he doesn’t have to hold the world up on his shoulders,” Gillen said.
As for Mason, he will still refer to himself as a shooting guard playing point guard and says this process is a challenge each and every game and one that he is still adjusting to.
“I think me playing the point is still something that is a matter of time. I think that I’m getting more comfortable with it. ... I’m still trying to hedge my bets on when I should pass the ball and when I should shoot,” Mason said. “I know when ACC season comes that I have to raise my level to the [nth] degree. They’re going to be coming after me and coming after our team, but I can’t wait for the opportunity to play against those guys.”

Presidential trivia. When referring to his team’s upcoming ACC season, Gillen said “the only thing to fear is fear itself” and attributed that quote to Teddy Roosevelt. Of course, it was Teddy Roosevelt’s cousin, Franklin Roosevelt, who uttered those famous lines during his tenure in the White House.
“I get confused some times,” Gillen quipped later.

Free throws. Virginia maintained its No. 4 ranking in the AP and ESPN/USA Today rankings but did fall from No. 3 to No. 5 in the RPI rankings, according to collegerpi.com. ... Virginia remains one of five unbeaten Division I teams in the country along with Duke, Oklahoma State, Butler and Miami.