Former Jasper Star Mason Carried Olympic Torch

There are no former MAAC basketball players participating in this year's Olympic competitions, but there is one involved in the London Games.

Former Manhattan women's standout Rosalee Mason (2000-01 through 2003-04), one of the conference's all-time best, took a turn in the 2012 Olympic Torch Relay this past Sunday. Mason, a native of London, carried the flame through the London borough of Bexley.

Mason was chosen to be a torchbearer because of her contributions to British basketball for for being an inspirational role model. She coaches at a variety of basketball camps in her native country every summer, and speaks to a large number of community events each year. She has also been involved, in recent years, with the girls' basketball team from the Wandsworth Borough, her home area, helping it prepare for the annual London Youth Games.

The Olympic flame was lit in Athens, Greece, and began its 70-day journey across Great Britain on May 18. More than 8,000 torchbearers will eventually participate in the Torch Relay, which winds through 1,000 cities, towns and villages throughout the United Kingdom. The relay culminates with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron at the conclusion of Friday night's Opening Ceremony.

Mason, a talented 5-foot-11 forward at Manhattan, is still the MAAC's all-time rebounding leader for women with 1,217. Her 1,875 career points is ninth-best in conference history. As a junior, she led the 2002-03 Manhattan team to its first regular-season title in program history, a MAAC tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Upon graduation she became a key member of the British National Team, and was part of the squad that won a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.