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Bashir Mason said he couldn’t help himself. The Wagner coach started tearing up, emotions getting the best of him.
On the other end of the call was Elijah Ford, Wagner’s standout senior guard who had just informed Mason his season — and likely his collegiate career — was over.
A visit to the doctor had confirmed everyone’s worst fears: Ford did in fact tear the ACL and lateral meniscus in his right knee in a game on Feb. 5. But after informing Mason, Ford wouldn’t let his coach break down any further.
“We don’t have time for that, coach,” Ford told him, “Let’s save the emotions for after we win it.”
Ford remained positive, refusing to allow anyone to see him show any disappointment. Wagner had a championship to win and Ford wasn’t going to let his injury, devastating as it was, get in the way of that. He didn’t feel sorry for himself and the Newark native didn’t want anyone else to, either. The reason for his decision to return for a fifth year, the reason the entire Seahawks team stayed intact, was to reach the NCAA Tournament.
“I know it’s bigger than me right now,” the 23-year-old Ford said Friday, as No. 2-seed Wagner prepared to host third-seeded LIU on Saturday night in the NEC Tournament semifinals. “I’m not going to worry about that until after we get our jewelry.”
The 6-foot-5 wing has become an honorary assistant coach and animated cheerleader since his injury. Before games, he sends a motivational text message to the team’s group chat. He is as active as anyone on the bench, looking to provide inspiration in any way he can. He offers instruction to individual players at his position during practices. He has remained as locked in as if he were still a player.
In a quarterfinal rout of St. Francis of Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Wagner (20-5) started the second half slow, allowing the Red Flash to score the first seven points of the stanza. A furious Mason called timeout. Before he ripped the players in the huddle, Ford motioned to him to relax. Wagner still held a 15-point lead.
“That brought me right back to the moment, the preparation, everything that we talk about, and how I want these guys to play,” Mason said. “I can’t be the guy in the huddle losing it, and he did that for me during the game. That’s something I’ve been doing for him since we met.
“The things he’s communicating to me are things he’s learned from me. For me, that’s breathtaking. I taught this guy something that will stick with him for the rest of his life.”
Mason has made sure nobody has forgotten about Ford. In the first game after his injury, the coach wore his No. 4 jersey. Ford was thinking about wearing it himself for the game, but didn’t decide until after tip-off. Then, he saw the jersey being worn by Mason, who has donned it for every game since.
“He’s got a smile that can light up a room already,” said Mason, who is in his 10th season at Wagner. “When I pulled the jersey out, [he had] one of the biggest smiles [I’ve seen], a tremendous amount of emotion ran throughout our team.”
Said Ford: “That just shows that it’s bigger than basketball here. I’m more than just a player.”
The season did take somewhat of a turn without Ford, Wagner’s leading shot-blocker, third-leading scorer and rebounder, and one of its top defenders. The Seahawks lost three of their last five games after starting 13-0 in the NEC, and finished second in the league to top-seeded Bryant.
Wagner wasn’t the same team without Ford, not as explosive or defensively dynamic. But against St. Francis, the Seahawks got back to the basics and cruised to a 29-point win, 82-53, their largest margin of victory since Jan. 17. Alex Morales recorded a triple-double of 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the victory, the first known triple-double in NEC Tournament history since 1983.
This tournament is a seminal moment in a memorable three-year career at Wagner for the 6-foot-6 Morales, the two-time NEC Player of the Year.
This is Morales’ last chance to get the Staten Island school back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003. The Paterson, N.J., native still thinks about the semifinal loss last season to Mount St. Mary’s, when he shot 3-for-15 in a six-point defeat. He wants to win it for Mason, who has done everything at Wagner but reach the NCAA Tournament, and for the six seniors who returned with that exact pursuit in mind. But most of all, he wants to do it for Ford, his close friend, who stayed with him during the COVID-19 pandemic because of a complicated family situation.
“Just to get it done for him, to see his smile bigger than it’s ever been, it’s extremely important,” said Morales, the only player in the country to average at least 18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. “Even more important than when he was playing. It pushes me more. It’s motivation.”
If Wagner does finish the job, if it does reach the NEC final Tuesday night and has the opportunity to cut down the nets, Ford will be in the middle of it all. Even with his bum knee, he won’t ask for any help climbing up the ladder.
“He’ll do that himself,” Morales said. “He won’t let nobody get him up there anyway.”
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