Mason Rocca

Mason Rocca

Mason Rocca in his famous hook shot.
Personal information
Born	(1977-11-06) November 6, 1977 Evanston, Illinois
Nationality	American / Italian
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	216 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school	Evanston Township (Evanston, Illinois)
College	Princeton (1996–2000)
NBA draft	2000: undrafted
Playing career	2000–2015
Position	Center
Career history
2000–2001	Trenton Shooting Stars
2001–2004	Aurora Jesi
2004–2008	Basket Napoli
2008–2012	Olimpia Milano
2012–2013	Virtus Bologna
2013–2015	Aurora Jesi
Medals Men's Basketball Representing Italy Mediterranean Games 2005 Almería Team Competition

Richard Mason Rocca (born November 6, 1977) is an American born Italian retired professional basketball player who played for the Italian National Basketball Team.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, his father is of Italian descent. He stands 203 cm tall, weighs 98 kg, and he plays as a forward-center.

Club career

Rocca played collegiately at Princeton University while achieving a degree in engineering. Following his college career in 2000, he played basketball for the Trenton Shooting Stars, of the International Basketball League.

In 2001, he moved to Europe joining Aurora Jesi of the Italian LegADue. Rocca's skills developed through hard work during this span and in 2004 he moved to Naples.

In the following three years, he became an integral part of the team and an idol of the local supporters. In 2006, he was a member of the Italian Cup Championship Napoli squad that reached the Playoff semifinal (lost against Fortitudo Bologna).

In 2007, his team participated in the Euroleague and lost in the Italian Supercup match against Benetton Treviso.

In 2008, he joined Armani Jeans Milano where he helped the team make it to the second round (round of 16) in the Euroleague, and to the semi-finals of the Italian Lega A where they lost to Siena. He continued in 2009 to play with Armani Jeans Milano.

On July 23, 2012, Rocca signed with Virtus Bologna. In July 2013, he returned to his former club Aurora Basket Jesi.

Italian League career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2004–05	Napoli	37	16	22.8	.559	.000	.557	7.1	.8	1.5	.1	10.1
2005–06	Napoli	42	2	22.2	.599	.000	.679	7.1	.6	1.9	.2	10.7
2006–07	Napoli	37	24	26.1	.615	.000	.549	7.0	.8	1.8	.1	11.6
2007–08	Napoli	33	30	27.5	.583	.000	480	7.9	1.1	2.3	.1	11.2
2008–09	Milano	40	11	13.9	.533	.000	.611	4.3	.3	1.3	.1	5.4
2009–10	Milano	18	12	22.6	590	.000	.642	5.4	.4	1.3	.1	8.4
Career		209	95	22.2	.583	.000	.581	6.5	.7	1.6	.1	9.6

Italian national team

Rocca was a member of the Italian senior roster at World Championship in 2006.

Awards and accomplishments

• Italian Cup (2006)

Personal life

Rocca is married to his high school sweetheart and has five children. Growing up he had two dogs, Rosie and Wizzer. He was a math teacher at Evanston Township High School and now teaches math at Beacon Academy.

External links

• Euroleague.net Player Profile
• Basketpedya.com Player Profile