By Scott Doane
UWRF Sports Information

Transferring from junior college to a four-year school can be difficult for some. For senior forward Alex Mass, his first year at UW-River Falls was no exception. Maas transferred from Mesabi Community College in his junior year. Before that, he spent his freshman year playing for Augsburg College in the Twin Cities. He says that last year was a difficult one, but gradually he adjusted, and he believes this year is going extremely well and he's ready to contribute a lot to the Falcons in 2005-06.

"I think when I first got here I struggled for a while," Maas said about his first year at River Falls. "Then in the second semester of last year, it got better. Now I think that this year is going really well."

Mass attended Mesabi Community College in northern Minnesota for two years. In his last season there, he was a starter and helped the team win the Minnesota State Junior College Championship. Prior to that, he played for Augsburg College. River Falls is his third school in four years. He says that transferring so much makes him have to get used to some new things.

"I guess the hardest thing is just getting used to a new system," Maas said about adjusting to different schools. "Just getting used to the coach's system and getting to know the players."

Maas had different reasons for transferring to River Falls. He wanted to play in the WIAC and he also wanted a school with his major, horticulture. River Falls just happened to be the school with both. "I kind of wanted to play in the WIAC," Maas said, "River Falls was a school with my major, so I decided to come here."

When he gets done with school, Maas hopes to take the degree he gets in horticulture and turned that into his own landscaping business.

Maas was born with a basketball in his hands. He grew up in Minong, Wis., and started playing basketball when he was three. His father, Rick, has been a basketball coach for 29 years so Maas was always around basketball. He would go to his father's practices and shoot around. His father was also a big influence on him and his basketball career. He happened to be Maas' coach from seventh grade up to his senior year of high school.

"He taught me a lot of what I know about the game," Maas said about his father. "He was my coach for three on three tournaments in the summer and for traveling teams in junior high."

With his father standing on the sidelines, Maas was able to have an outstanding high school career at Northwood High School. Through his career, he averaged 18 points a game. He scored 1,000 points during his high school career. He earned all-conference honorable mention his freshman year. In his junior and senior year he was able to make the all-conference team. He was a four-year letter winner at Northwood and a four-year starter. In his senior year, he helped Northwood to a 21-4 record.

Like most student athletes, Maas has other interests besides playing basketball. He enjoys hanging out with friends and lifting weights. He also likes the outdoors. He enjoys hunting and fishing. Maas is a rifle hunter and usually hunts deer, even though he hasn't been too successful. He says that the biggest deer he's gotten was a four pointer.

Being a junior college transfer on a sports team is never easy. Maas' first year at River Falls was no exception. Last season, Maas played in 20 games and started one. He was basically a role player for the team. This season, however, both he and Falcon head Coach Rick Bowen believe that Maas can get into the playing rotation and expand on his role.

"Last year he went through a typical junior college transfer year," Bowen said about the senior. "Alex is a really good kid. He's a joy to coach and a pleasure to be around."

Maas has some ideas on what he needs to do to get more playing time. "I need to be more productive in scoring," he said. "I want to be a guy that coach can trust to put in and handle the ball, and play solid defense."

 Bowen believes Maas has the talent to work his way into the starting rotation. He says Maas has the athleticism, size, and shooting ability to get some playing time this season.   However, Bowen also stressed consistency.

"I think Alex needs to be consistent," Bowen added. "He demonstrates the ability to shoot occasionally. Sometimes he shows real flashes, but he's just inconsistent. I have every hope that Alex will work his way into the playing rotation."

Alex Mass