4 days Ago By Max O'Neill
KOUVOLA, Finland — The first stop for former University of Jamestown star Mason Walters’ professional basketball career will take him halfway across the globe to Kouvola, Finland. The Jamestown native officially signed with Kouvot in the Finnish basketball league, Korisliiga, for the remainder of the season. Walters’ agent, Drew Kelso, said the former Jimmie will make his debut on either Thursday, Dec.
19, or Friday, Dec. 20. ADVERTISEMENT Walters said he signed with the four-time league champions because he wanted an opportunity to hit the court and get back to playing.
Walters thought his first professional stop would be closer to home when he signed with the NBA G-League’s Valley Suns but he was released on Oct. 30. In the weeks following his departure from the Valley Suns, Kelso said he worked hard to find Walters another spot to play basketball.
He said Walters received five or six offers after Oct. 30 but it was difficult to find a spot because leagues around the world already began. “We were a little surprised that it didn’t work out in Phoenix,” Kelso said.
“We knew it was a possibility but they decided to go with a different kind of lineup and go smaller and the way of the land with the NBA and then the G-League, small ball is definitely a thing now. So they wanted to go that route and obviously Mase didn’t fit with what they were looking for. So we’ve been keeping opportunities open both here in the G-League and in Europe and just trying to find the right fit and we won’t know until once he gets there and gets playing but we feel really good about the situation.
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Kelso said the league is known as a good place for players to start their careers before moving on to higher levels of competition. “So it’s a really good opportunity for him and we’re definitely excited about it,” he said Walters had a decorated college career playing for the University of Jamestown and the University of Wyoming. He played in 119 games for his hometown college, becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,662 career points.
He owns five other single-season or single-game records as a Jimmie. He was also named the NAIA Player of the Year for the 2022-23 season. In his lone season as a Cowboy, Walters averaged 12.
2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
ADVERTISEMENT Walters traversed multiple countries in a 24-hour span before arriving on Tuesday, Dec. 16. “I had a long flight .
.. just traveling for the past 24 hours straight basically,” Walters said.
“I left on Sunday morning at 6 out of Jamestown, we went to Fargo and then Fargo to Chicago. I had a layover and then Chicago to Frankfurt, another layover and then Frankfurt to Helsinki and then drove from Helsinki to Kouvola. The past 24 hours have been a lot of travel, just got here, got some groceries and got into my apartment.
” Kelso said when he first signed Walters as a client, he told him his career could take him around the world and give him experiences he would never have gotten to experience. Walters said it was the first time he has ever left the U.S.
“Like anything it’s uncomfortable and gets you out of your comfort zone,” Walters said. “I wouldn’t say I was super excited about moving halfway across the country and being away from my friends and family, but I’m excited about playing basketball professionally and enjoy this unique and amazing opportunity. There’s good and bad with everything.
I’m lucky I get to keep playing a game and get paid for it and call it a job." Walters is one of five Americans on the Kouvot roster this season. “It’s nice to have people that speak the same language obviously and similar backgrounds,” Walters said.
“It’s a little bit of a culture shock right away flying into Frankfurt, Germany, and then down to Finland where no one is speaking English and all the stuff in the grocery store and the signs everywhere aren’t in English, but it’ll be nice to have people who are familiar and speak English as well.” ADVERTISEMENT One challenge for Walters' is being added to the team while the season already began in October. “(There are) a lot of challenges I guess, meeting new teammates, new coaches, new environment,” Walters said.
“I have a short amount of time to play these games so gotta get acclimated as fast as I can and get used to playing the game because it’s been a while since I played. So kinda getting back on track and taking advantage of the rest of the season. I still got four months about so making the most out of my time out here.
” Before signing his contract with the squad, Walters and Kelso met with the team’s head coach Tom Cooman about what his role would be. “The majority of their roster has to be Finnish players, and they’re allowed to have four imports, so they can be from anywhere in the world but obviously they choose four Americans,” Kelso said. “Mason will be one of the four.
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He may or may not start. I think he will but he’ll relied on to score at a high level, have a big role, play inside, play outside. I think they want to see and we want to see is his ability to shoot the basketball.
After last year at Wyoming, it’s something he’s gotta show scouts around the world that he can do, that we know he can do. He’ll have a big role on the team for sure.” Kelso said the team got Walters an apartment and a car.
Since leaving the Jimmies, Walters has had to fight through his fair share of challenges, missing games at Wyoming due to a thumb injury. A quad injury held him out of the 2024 NBA Summer League. “I think it’s a testament to hard work and staying motivated and if you have a goal trying to do everything you can to reach it, even if that’s getting hurt or cut or whatever that may be, just trying to do whatever you can to be successful,” Walters said.
“I think I learned a lot about myself and I’ll always appreciate these times and look back on them and take away what I learned from it.” ADVERTISEMENT Kelso said he is hoping Walters will get another opportunity to play in the NBA Summer League next summer. “.
.. Especially because he was injured, we would love to pursue that opportunity,” Kelso said.
“It’s not an end-all be-all. I think that would be something that we would work towards to do. Obviously it matters how he plays and what people think of how he plays.
Mason’s open to whatever the best opportunity is, genuinely, I’ve got some guys that say that, but Mason is really about whatever is best for his career. If that opportunity comes, he’ll be ready. People here will follow his journey over there.
We always say if you’re good enough they’ll find you for sure.”.
