Mason Rocca

Richard Mason Rocca (born November 6, 1977) is an American born Italian retired professional basketball player who played for the Italian National Basketball Team.

Mason Rocca
Mason Rocca in his famous hook shot.
Personal information
Born (1977-11-06) November 6, 1977
Evanston, Illinois
NationalityAmerican / Italian
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight216 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolEvanston Township
(Evanston, Illinois)
CollegePrinceton (1996–2000)
NBA draft2000: undrafted
Playing career2000–2015
PositionCenter
Career history
2000–2001Trenton Shooting Stars
2001–2004Aurora Jesi
2004–2008Basket Napoli
2008–2012Olimpia Milano
2012–2013Virtus Bologna
2013–2015Aurora Jesi
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Italy
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 2005 Almería Team Competition

Born in Evanston, Illinois, his father is of Italian descent. He stands 203 cm tall, weighs 98 kg, and he plays as a forward-center.

Club career

Rocca played collegiately at Princeton University while achieving a degree in engineering. Following his college career in 2000, he played basketball for the Trenton Shooting Stars, of the International Basketball League.

In 2001, he moved to Europe joining Aurora Jesi of the Italian LegADue. Rocca's skills developed through hard work during this span and in 2004 he moved to Naples.

In the following three years, he became an integral part of the team and an idol of the local supporters. In 2006, he was a member of the Italian Cup Championship Napoli squad that reached the Playoff semifinal (lost against Fortitudo Bologna).

In 2007, his team participated in the Euroleague and lost in the Italian Supercup match against Benetton Treviso.

In 2008, he joined Armani Jeans Milano where he helped the team make it to the second round (round of 16) in the Euroleague, and to the semi-finals of the Italian Lega A where they lost to Siena. He continued in 2009 to play with Armani Jeans Milano.

On July 23, 2012, Rocca signed with Virtus Bologna.[1] In July 2013, he returned to his former club Aurora Basket Jesi.

Italian League career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004–05 Napoli 371622.8.559.000.5577.1.81.5.110.1
2005–06 Napoli 42222.2.599.000.6797.1.61.9.210.7
2006–07 Napoli 372426.1.615.000.5497.0.81.8.111.6
2007–08 Napoli 333027.5.583.0004807.91.12.3.111.2
2008–09 Milano 401113.9.533.000.6114.3.31.3.15.4
2009–10 Milano 181222.6590.000.6425.4.41.3.18.4
Career 2099522.2.583.000.5816.5.71.6.19.6

Italian national team

Rocca was a member of the Italian senior roster at World Championship in 2006.

Awards and accomplishments

Personal life

Rocca is married to his high school sweetheart and has five children. Growing up he had two dogs, Rosie and Wizzer. He was a math teacher at Evanston Township High School and now teaches math at Beacon Academy.[2]

References

  1. "Virtus Bologna officially signs Mason Rocca". Sportando. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  2. "Beacon Academy Staff Pages". Retrieved 20 February 2020.


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