FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 7, 2021) – After a standout three-year career at Northern State University, Mason Stark is coming home. Northern Arizona head coach
Shane Burcar announced the addition of Stark, a Chandler, Ariz. native, to the Lumberjack men's basketball program on Wednesday.
Stark, a 6-2 guard, is a graduate transfer who will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
"We want to build with Arizona guys and Mason Stark, who played at Marcos De Niza High School, is a great fit for us," Burcar said. "He knows some of our players and he just wants to keep getting better at basketball. With our Student-Athlete High Performance Center coming up, that was a big factor for Mason as well. We're going to have our own locker room and our own practice facility; who wouldn't want to play here?"
"Mason is also serious about his academics and there are going to be individual study areas, three classrooms and a research lab, and the academic staff is going to be right in that building," Burcar added. "Those are the reasons guys are coming here, and NAU is committed to winning."
After a prep career that saw Stark average 23.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game as a senior, while also setting the Arizona state record for most consecutive free throws made, he went off to star at Northern State where he scored 1,107 points in three seasons.
Stark averaged 16.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game during the recently completed 2020-21 season, earning Northern Sun All-Conference First Team honors. Stark scored a team-high 24 points in the conference championship game, leading the Wolves to their fourth consecutive NSIC tournament title and being named the Tournament MVP.
Stark would later go on to garner a spot on the NABC Division II Central All-District Second Team and in all was a three-time NSIC All-Conference honoree and three-time NSIC All-Tournament Team selection.
"Mason is a basketball savant and he can score off the dribble really well," Burcar said. "We do need his scoring, but he can be a combo guard too, and the most impressive stat about Mason is that he averages five rebounds a game. He'll bring in a defensive intensity that we're searching for in addition to his scoring."
Not only did Stark fill up the scoring column, but he also was highly efficient in doing so. While averaging 13.2 points per game over his three years at Northern State, Stark shot 54.2 percent overall, 51.2 percent behind the arc and 83.9 percent at the free throw line.
"He has a chip on his shoulder," Burcar said of Stark, who had 15 career games of 20 points or more with a high of 37. "He didn't get recruited by Division I schools out of high school and he wants to win for his home state.
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