This is no children’s game.
This is a game in which players from all over America and across foreign waters all come together to progress their game with hopes of playing professionally. While trying to achieve this lofty future, bringing pride to their school, their team and themselves are all important keys that they focus on.
Bradley junior forward Rienk Mast is just one of several players facing this multifaceted challenge. But in his third year playing for Bradley, the Dutch big man is still hoping to check several boxes while he mulls an early professional career.
Earning This Title
When Mast first landed in Peoria, Illinois, the towering freshman was touted as someone to help continue the program’s growth that head coach Brian Wardle had instilled since he took the helm in 2015.
Out with an ACL tear while playing in Europe his freshman year, Mast redshirted the 2019-20 season in which former Braves Darrell Brown, Elijah Childs and Nate Kennell led Bradley to back-to-back Arch Madness titles before having their hearts broken when the NCAA Tournament was abruptly called off in 2020 due to the COVID.
The 6-foot-9 Dutch big man got to experience the joy of winning three games in three days, but since he was on the sideline wearing khakis and a striped polo then, he’s ready to do it himself this go-around.
“I still got it,” Mast said with a grin when asked about his non-dress sideline attire during the 2020 title run. “They’re still laying at the bottom of my closet.”
The Quest for Quadruple Digits
Adding to the pursuit of the MVC title, Mast is looking to add to his collection of personal honors after being snubbed for the MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year Wednesday.
Stoic in the presser following the Braves 72-66 enthralling victory over Northern Iowa Friday, the Dutch forward was clearly peeved over the non-selection, and his 30-point career-high performance acted as a megaphone for his intention to tear up the tournament.
“Before [MVC Player of the Year awards] were announced, I looked it up and it was like the first season in well over a decade that the best player on the winning team from the regular season didn’t win it. So yeah, that’s my chip right now,” Mast said.”
Unable to change past events, Mast has looked forward and now sits 21 points shy of becoming the 52nd Brave to hit four digits in the career scoring column. He leaked a smile when Wardle chimed in to voice his support of Mast in his pursuit of the goal.
“I do, I’d like him to get it.” Wardle interposed after Mast was asked about reaching 1,000 career points.”
“Obviously I knew before the [Northern Iowa] game how far away I am from it,” Mast added. “It’d definitely be cool to get.”
Amongst calls for Mast to return for one more season on the Hilltop, the Dutch forward is competing with time to reach the point threshold before this magical season writes its final chapter.
“I mean hopefully we play the NCAA Tournament, but once I’ve played my last game of the season here, I’ll talk to my people and then we’ll figure it out from there,” Mast said during the postgame press conference following Bradley’s win over Drake.
Pushing to the Postseason
Bradley last participated in the NCAA Tournament in 2019 when the 15-seeded Braves led second-ranked Michigan State before getting ousted by the Spartans late in the second half. Hungry for his first taste of postseason play, Mast is laser-focused on marching his squad forward and adding extra basketball to the season.
“Obviously every year that’s the goal,” Mast said. “Being a part of the 2020 team that won Arch Madness but then didn’t get to go to the NCAA Tournament [was difficult]. I’ve never been part of the NCAA Tournament officially because I didn’t get to go. That’s a little extra motivation.”
With senior forward Ja’Shon Henry being the only player with NCAA postseason experience, the Braves are just mere newborns when it comes to veteran tournament experience. Of course, hiding in the back is a guaranteed spot in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) , should the Braves not win the MVC Tournament, thanks to the first-place MVC regular season finish.
Having four NIT titles to its name, Bradley doesn’t want to think about the secondary tournament, they aspire to grab everything they can in a season like none other.
