MASON GORDON

MASON GORDON
The creator of Slamball, Mason Gordon is the Diablos starting handler, but more importantly, he helps
	to organize and promote the league at the same time. This work has earned him the nickname "CEO" from the other players, which thousands of fans were chanting as he completed his incredible flip dunk in this year's dunk contest. Mason was one of the original six Slamball players and was the only Diablo to play in the original season, where he played for the Rumble. "That was the first time we built a full court. We only had two trampolines on each end (top and bottom tramps). We had these stupid little mini tramps on the sides, which were only used in Face Offs. But when it was the Mob and the Rumble, that's when the game really took off," said Mason. The Mob brought a starting line-up of Sean Jackson, Stan Fletcher, Jeff Sheridan and Dion Mays against the Rumble's Gordon, Michael Goldman, James Willis, and Rob Wilson. "The game was rough and tumble and guys would get lit up, but there was this feeling of togetherness, like we were accomplishing something. We would work for 12 - 16 hours a day and be back early the next day for more. The best part of those days was the people coming in from the neighborhoods. This was downtown LA, so we'd have all kinds of people coming through and watching for hours and hours. Sometimes we'd finish a game and

there'd be 200 people in there clapping and cheering. That's when we knew we had something special, when people would ask for a schedule so they could bring their families to watch. That was my favorite part," Mason said of the first season.
When Slamball expanded to six teams, and had their first full season with TV games, Mason helped lead the Diablos to the inaugural championship game, where they lost to the Rumble. Mason credited the rest of the original Diablos team for such a successful year.
"The first Diablos team was successful because of David Jackson, Anthony White and Ray Ross. You could throw Calvin Patterson in there too, but he was playing hurt through most of season one (as you saw in season two what he could do with the Riders). David is just an absolutely incredible athlete...Captian freakin' America out there. He's made for SlamBall because he just goes for it. It got him banged up pretty bad the first year because he was learning the safety techniques on the fly and he was just out there going for it and worrying about landing later. David's got the whole inside/outside threat package and as SlamBall grows, expect to see David becoming an even more dominant player. Anthony White is just a warrior, plain and simple. He loses his mind when he gets out there and he'll do anything to win. Ray Ross is overshadowed a bit, but he does everything for the Diablos that LaMonica Garrett does for the Mob. Ray is a football player beast who has basketball skills and aerial creativity."

There are no definite stats from that first season, but Mason averaged around 8 points a game, and a team-high in LBRs. He was back with the Diablos for Season 2, along with Jackson, White, and Ross, but the Diablos were unable to repeat their success from the previous season, going 4-6 and missing the playoffs after a 3-point loss to the expansion Slashers in the final game.
"I think what happened this year was that the talents didn't blend like they did in the first season. You didn't have Josh Carlson, Calvin and Al Jones being so supportive and coming in and giving a great effort. All eight Diablos team members from season one went on to start for a SlamBall

team in season two. That's a pretty compelling argument that the overall talent level went down a bit."
          The Diablos were also hurt by the loss of draft pick Adam Hooker, who went on to lead the Slashers over the Diablos for the last player spot and won MVP consideration. "Nobody wanted Hooker to go, in fact it was a near mutiny when it happened, but the Slashers lost their first round pick (Malcolm Battles) and SlamBall as a sport was facing the prospect of the Slashers going 0-10 without a single Stopper on their roster. The decision was made to move Hooker and the rest played out the way it did."
          This forced trade doomed the Diablos, but there is still hope for next season. When asked what we can expect from the Diablos in season 3, Mason said, "Expect Jim Jackson to take a big step forward. He showed flashes of being a dominant gunner and I think he and David Jackson will be a great tandem next season. Watch for Ramone Floyd to become a top tier Handler. He's a real bright spot for the future."
          We also have still not seen the best of Mason Gordon either. "In the early days of SlamBall, I went to the rack like a madman, had a ton of specialty moves and played great defense. When we put together the Diablos team, I had so much confidence in David, A White and Ray Ross that I just wanted to support them and set them up. I was in awe of them as atheltes. What I didn't do was assert myself on offense like I wanted to and the team needed me to. I'm trying to improve my game overall and trying to find a better way to contribute to the success of the team. The bottom line for the Diablos is that when we support each other, we're unbeatable. When we're not, we're a middle of the pack team."

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