Young coach brings pro experience to women's basketball

Already a familiar face on the Vassar campus, Angel Mason, who has been the Athletics Operations Manager since 2005, was appointed the Women’s Basketball Head Coach this year. She hopes her experience on the Vassar campus will lead to a smooth start as head coach.

Mason’s college basketball days began at Division I Butler University. Following her graduation in 2004, she played professionally in Iceland and Madrid. Despite her early Division I exposure, Mason is excited about coaching at a Division III school.

“I think the Division III mentality is one I fall in line with,” Mason said. “The idea of academics and athletics working together makes for a positive experience. I fall in line with that mentality. It’s a better fit for me right now.”

Mason also served as an assistant women’s basketball coach her first year at Vassar. En route to obtaining a coaching position, she became involved in the Black Coaches Association and the Women’s Basketball Association.

Though Division I schools do offer higher levels of competition and scholarships, according to Mason, the often overwhelming athletic schedules tend to affect students’ performances in the classroom, something that she encountered during her college career.

Mason hopes to bring to Vassar’s squad an up-tempo, competitive style of play more characteristic of Division I teams. Returning upperclassmen will face different offensive and defensive styles, she said. She anticipates having seven returning players and four freshmen, with the possibility of picking up a couple of walk-ons.

“Our summer workout is based in developing a strong core, not specifically basketball related, just so my players will return healthy,” Mason said. The team has been plagued by injuries in the past, something that the potentially small team cannot afford this season.

The returning players have also been in contact with Mason over the selection of an assistant coach. Mason was looking for an assistant who would be a liaison between herself and younger players, who she said don’t typically go right to the head coach with concerns.

Fallon Rehmert, a guard and proficient shooter who played college ball at Maryville in St. Louis was hired to play the “good cop” to Mason while helping to improve the team’s overall field goal and free throw percentages.

Consistent in shooting and well-executed defenses are the themes of Mason’s new regime. She stresses communication and harder, more competitive practices.

“I really believe that what you do in practice is what you’re doing in the game,” Mason emphasized.

Because of her familiarity with Vassar athletics, Mason is also apt to point out its shortcomings and change them into advantages.

“The average player that comes into Vassar’s program is between 5’5” and 5’7”,” she said, which could be seen as a disadvantage. Many of the team’s Liberty League opponents bring in taller, bigger athletes year-to-year. Mason, however, recognizes her players’ abilities and believes that an up-tempo game will compensate for height differences.

“We need to make our offense work for us, not against us,” she stressed. “The majority of teams have a set offense. We want to disrupt that.”

Though the upcoming season may be perceived as a rebuilding year, Mason plans to have turned the team into a “consistent winning program” in three years’ time.

Mason has been recruiting throughout the country since her appointment in June. Recruitment at academically strong Division III schools such as Vassar is a challenge, since scholarships are not offered to players. However, Mason plans to improve this process by networking through academically minded Division I schools, approaching players who just missed that elusive scholarship and spot on the bench.

A large part of improving the athletics department, said Mason, is generating excitement about women’s athletics. She noted how hard it was for past teams to play in an empty gym, only to have it packed an hour later for the men’s basketball game.

“We want to turn [Vassar] into someplace where we’ve begun to strive to make our athletics as infamous as our academics,” she said.