Back when he was a senior at Folsom High School, Mason Forbes narrowed his college choices to two schools. One of them was Saint Mary’s, and during a campus visit Forbes met with coach Randy Bennett, who laid out all the talking points that favored the Gaels.
“The only other school that you’re looking at that I think could beat us out would be Harvard because we can’t offer that same level of academics,” Forbes recalled Bennett telling him.
The 6-foot-9 forward opted for the Ivy League and earned his Harvard degree in psychology. But he never got the chance he has this weekend — to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Because Ivy League athletes are not allowed to play sports as graduate students, Forbes transferred to Saint Mary’s, which will face Grand Canyon in its opening-round NCAA game Friday at Spokane, Washington. Forbes sat out last season and became a starter for the Gaels six games ago after Joshua Jefferson suffered a knee injury.
“I definitely got the best of both worlds,” Forbes said. “Go to the Ivies and have a little bit more of an academic focus and be able to come to Saint Mary’s, one of the best basketball programs on the West Coast.”
Fans may have wondered how things would go after Jefferson was injured, but Forbes has delivered. He’s averaged 9.0 points over six starts and in Las Vegas last week shot 11 for 12 from the field in two victories as the Gaels (26-7) added the West Coast Conference tournament crown to their regular-season title.
Senior guard Alex Ducas said Forbes has been “incredible” all season.
“Mason’s a monster on the boards,” he said. “I’m super proud of him and he’s such an engine for us. When we lost J-Jeff, we knew we were going to be all right because this guy cares so much about the team.”
Forbes said, “Having my coaching staff and my teammates support me and kind of lift me up into that role made that step that much easier. It’s been a great year.”
Forbes’ father and his grandfather both played college basketball and both later had stints with the Harlem Globetrotters. Neither made it to the NCAAs, but Mason is not the first family member to get there. That distinction belongs to his sister, McKenzie, who played in the event as a freshman at Cal, followed him to Harvard and now plays for USC (26-5), which plays in the women’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday at home vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
A busy weekend for parents Sterling and Sasha Forbes, who plan to fly back and forth to watch their kids play each day, potentially through Monday. “It’s a huge week in the Forbes household,” Mason confirmed.
Stanford’s No. 4 would be a first
If the Stanford women (28-5) win their fourth NCAA title, they will do so as a No. 2 seed for the first time. The Cardinal, which hosts No. 15 Norfolk State (27-5) on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN2), has advanced to the Final Four as a No. 2 seed six times (1991, 1995, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2017).
But Stanford’s three NCAA crowns (1990, 1992, 2021) came as No. 1 seeds.
Stanford will have to deal with Diamond Johnson, Norfolk’s 5-foot-5 junior guard, who averages 20.3 points and has scored 1,441 career points, including previous stops at North Carolina State and Rutgers.
What is the WBIT?
The Cal (18-14) and Santa Clara women (24-8) landed spots in the inaugural WBIT, a 32-team event sponsored by the NCAA that has usurped the 48-team WNIT as the No. 2 tournament on the women’s side.
Both teams open play at home on Thursday: The No. 2 seed Bears will face Hawaii (20-10) at 7 p.m. while the Broncos take on former West Coast Conference rival BYU (16-16) at 6 p.m.
Hawaii brings a defensive mindset to Berkeley, 18th nationally in scoring defense (56.0 points). But in losses to three Pac-12 teams — Stanford, UCLA and Washington — the Rainbow Wahine surrendered an average of nearly 77 per game.
Santa Clara sophomore Tess Heal, with 628 points this season, needs 12 points to break the school record set by Melissa King in 1991-92. BYU, now playing in the Big 12, has a familiar face in senior Lauren Gustin, the nation’s leading in rebounder (15.4) for the second year in a row and No. 4 on the NCAA’s career list with 1,683 rebounds.
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Making Papa House proud
Former Hayward High School star Eddie House, who went on play at Arizona State and for 11 seasons in the NBA, will be cheering for son Jaelen, who is about to experience something Dad never did: Play in the NCAA Tournament.
New Mexico senior Jaelen House was MVP of the Mountain West tournament, averaging 23.0 points in four victories, including 28 points in the Lobos’ 68-61 win over San Diego State in the championship game.
“I expect him to do stuff like this, to show up in big moments. He lives for this,” Eddie House, who in 2000 tied Lew Alcindor’s Pac-10 single-game record of 61 points, told the Albuquerque Journal.
The sixth-seeded Lobos (26-9) debut Friday against Clemson (21-11) at Memphis (12:10 p.m. PT, truTV).