Anthony Mason has been named head boys basketball coach at Upland High School.
Mason, 30, is no stranger to the area. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women’s team which won the SCIAC and advanced to the playoffs.
But he is also very familiar with the Upland community, having spent eight years as a lower lever coach at the school when John McNally, now the athletic director, was the head coach.
He also took the helm of the Upland program in 2011 when McNally was sidelined after suffering a stroke,
Mason received his bachelor of arts in sociology from Long Beach State. He also got a master’s in education in school and clinical counseling from Azuza Pacific.
Mason will also work as a counselor at Upland.
Mason replaces Josh Thomas whose team went 11-16 overall and 3-7 in the Baseline League in his only season.
He knows he has his work cut out for him in getting the Highlanders back to where they can compete in the tough league.
“You have to go to practice every day prepared to outwork everyone else,” he said.
Mason says he learned a lot from coaching with Kristen Dowling at CMS.
“It’s about building a culture where you demand excellence from yourself and from your players,” he said. “And you develop a strong work ethic.”
