Two traits have been with men’s basketball junior forward Dameon Mason since childhood.
Pain from ongoing migraines and a fascination with criminal justice have followed Mason into his Marquette University collegiate career and through his transfer to LSU.
The Kansas City, Mo., native and aspiring FBI agent has been in and out of the Tigers’ starting lineup this season, partially because of intense migraines. Mason has tried various migraine treatments such as chiropractic care, deviated septum sinus surgery and jaw joint realignment that required a “huge, annoying brace” for his mouth.
“The migraines have gotten worse as I’ve gotten older,” Mason said. “When I got to college, they got a lot stronger because of the workouts, and the workload was a lot more than high school.”
During his Marquette career, Mason averaged nearly 12 points per game and started 28 of 31 games as a sophomore. His LSU season average is 5.4 points per game, a noticeable decline from the double digits he regularly scored at Marquette. Mason declined to comment on the specific reasons he left Marquette but said he wishes only the best for the AP No. 18-ranked squad.
“I just didn’t feel that the Marquette atmosphere was right for me,” Mason said. “I know my game will come. It’s a different type of system, different type of team. Up there I had the ball a lot and would dominate the ball.”
Mason began this season with seven straight starts before falling out of the lineup after experiencing a migraine before the Dec. 17 Oregon State game. He returned to the lineup from Dec. 23 to Jan. 9 but has started only one game since then.
Assistant coach John Treloar said Mason’s migraines were not a concern when discussing his playing potential at LSU.
“I think in Dameon’s situation he was looking to move in a different direction from his Marquette situation,” Treloar said. “Dameon is a guy with experience who has come in and played a utility role. I say that in a positive way … a role where he can play the perimeter position, the wing position or the inside position.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, more than 28 million Americans suffer from migraines. Migraines generally last four to 72 hours, and women are three times more likely to suffer than men.
Mason experienced his most recent intense migraine several days before the Feb. 10 home game against the University of Arkansas. He said his vision became obscured – a classic warning symptom called an “aura.”
“I’ve always had bad headaches,” Mason said. “Light really bothers me.”
Mason’s mother Pamela Mason said her son would often miss a week of school because of his migraine pain.
“He suffered so much from them,” she said. “Over the years he just learned to deal with it.”
Pamela Mason said the Marquette doctors provided many advanced treatments that soon decreased the frequency of her son’s migraines. She said she and her husband Brad were surprised to hear about his plans to transfer from Marquette to LSU.
But the Masons supported their son by traveling to the first three LSU home games and will fly to Atlanta to watch Thursday’s Southeastern Conference tournament game.
“At one point he felt that he just didn’t quite fit in with the program [at Marquette] and said that he wanted to leave,” she said. “We didn’t want him to transfer because of the lengthy process. But we had to support him as long as he was staying in school.”
Dameon Mason will graduate after the summer intersession and pursue a Master’s degree while completing his final year of basketball eligibility.
He said he wants to take specialized criminal justice courses and enroll in an internship to enhance his knowledge.
“I read up on FBI profiling cases, serial killers and jury heists,” he said. “I watch all the TV shows like CSI. I do a lot of reading on the Internet. I Google something and just read it. I feel like a nerd, but that’s what I do.”
Dameon Mason prefers not to speak on the phone while reading or working, so he instead sends text messages. His mother claims he averages 4,000 per month on his unlimited text plan, but he said she may be “exaggerating.”
Pamela Mason describes her text-savvy son as a “social butterfly” who perhaps talks too much.
“All through school that was our problem,” she said. “He was a bit too social. How can you even have 4,000 average messages on the phone bill? And he tells me, ‘Mom, but my minutes are down.'”
LSU sophomore center teammate Chris Johnson boasted he beats Mason’s text message average with more than 5,000 per month. Johnson said he bonded with Mason when both did not play during the 2006 Final Four.
“Both of us were experiencing sitting down when pretty much our whole life we had played,” Johnson said. “We cut up all the time. He might be the goofiest guy on the team.”
He may be labeled as the team jokester, but Mason said he has grown extensively during his LSU career.
“It comes with growth,” he said. “You grow through things. Certain things, you’re not going to like. I didn’t blame anybody.”
Mason watched the 2006 Final Four sitting in the stands next to his mother.
This season he watched his starting spot slip away and assumed an off-the-bench role. Mason said all have been character-building experiences he will use for his final season as a Tiger.
“I just said ‘You know, I’ve got to work on different things and see where I can fit into different spots on this team,'” he said. “I was having a hard time finding what I could do at different times during the game and during the season. I just kept my poise. It was frustrating at times. I wanted to go home and yell and throw stuff on the bed, but [instead] I come here and show that I’m all for the team.”
—–Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]