Instinct makes Chamblee guards a dangerous duo
- 1/15/10
- Categorized in: Sports
by Robert Naddra
Robert@dekalbchamp.com
Eye contact. That’s all David Mason and Langston Hall need to catch the opposition off guard.
The seniors have done plenty of that this season for the Chamblee basketball team, helping the Bulldogs to a top-10 ranking in the Associated Press Class AAAA poll. The Bulldogs were 9-3 through the holiday break.
“We’ve got trick moves that we do,” said the 6-foot-4 Mason, who is the leading scorer in DeKalb County. “We make eye contact and know what to do.”
The duo has provided the bulk of the offensive spark for the Bulldogs. Mason, the two guard, averaged 32 points through the first five games and has scored at least 30 points in six games. Hall, who is 6-3 and plays point guard, also is averaging in double figures and has a season-high of 32 points.
Mason and Hall met at a summer basketball camp at Georgia Tech before their eighth-grade year and made an instant connection on the court. They then became teammates at Chamblee in ninth grade.
They also are on the same AAU team in the summer. Each had spent a few years on different AAU teams before deciding to join the Atlanta All-Stars AAU team last summer.
“I don’t have as much of a connection with anyone on my AAU team as with Langston,” Mason said. “We talked about playing on the same AAU team and decided to switch last summer.”
Hall had been playing for Aim High and Mason was in the Georgia Stars program.
“We’re like brothers, we know each other so well,” Hall said. “We came up together so we have good chemistry. We lost some good players last year so we know we both have to pick up the slack.”
With the graduation of 6-foot-7 Marcus Cowan (now on scholarship at Tennessee State), Mason and Hall have taken over the scoring load and the leadership role. They each have a different skill set, and each knows precisely how the other can help the team.
Mason is a pure shooter and can score from anywhere on the floor. Hall gets the offense going with passing and ball-handling ability, but he can score and rebound as well.
“He could be the best guard in the whole state,” Chamblee coach Caesar Burgess said of Hall. “David wouldn’t be scoring all those points if it weren’t for Langston. But (Langston) can score, too. He’s a triple-double waiting to happen.”
Both are good students, which has increased their college choices. Mason has a 3.7 grade-point-average and scored 1450 out of 2400 on SAT. Hall has a 3.1 GPA and scored 1600 out of 2400.
Hall already has signed a scholarship with Mercer University in Macon, an NCAA Division I school in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Mason, who has been more of a late-bloomer, is getting interest from NCAA Division I colleges across the country and has offers from North Florida and Alabama State. He also has interest from American, Colgate and Alabama-Birmingham, among others.
“He’s getting better every day and he’s still not anywhere close to what he’s going to be,” Burgess said of Mason. “Now the college recruiters are picking up on him. He’ll sign Division I somewhere.”
Eye contact. That’s all David Mason and Langston Hall need to catch the opposition off guard.
The seniors have done plenty of that this season for the Chamblee basketball team, helping the Bulldogs to a top-10 ranking in the Associated Press Class AAAA poll. The Bulldogs were 9-3 through the holiday break.
“We’ve got trick moves that we do,” said the 6-foot-4 Mason, who is the leading scorer in DeKalb County. “We make eye contact and know what to do.”
The duo has provided the bulk of the offensive spark for the Bulldogs. Mason, the two guard, averaged 32 points through the first five games and has scored at least 30 points in six games. Hall, who is 6-3 and plays point guard, also is averaging in double figures and has a season-high of 32 points.
Mason and Hall met at a summer basketball camp at Georgia Tech before their eighth-grade year and made an instant connection on the court. They then became teammates at Chamblee in ninth grade.
They also are on the same AAU team in the summer. Each had spent a few years on different AAU teams before deciding to join the Atlanta All-Stars AAU team last summer.
“I don’t have as much of a connection with anyone on my AAU team as with Langston,” Mason said. “We talked about playing on the same AAU team and decided to switch last summer.”
Hall had been playing for Aim High and Mason was in the Georgia Stars program.
“We’re like brothers, we know each other so well,” Hall said. “We came up together so we have good chemistry. We lost some good players last year so we know we both have to pick up the slack.”
With the graduation of 6-foot-7 Marcus Cowan (now on scholarship at Tennessee State), Mason and Hall have taken over the scoring load and the leadership role. They each have a different skill set, and each knows precisely how the other can help the team.
Mason is a pure shooter and can score from anywhere on the floor. Hall gets the offense going with passing and ball-handling ability, but he can score and rebound as well.
“He could be the best guard in the whole state,” Chamblee coach Caesar Burgess said of Hall. “David wouldn’t be scoring all those