30-07-2025
‘One good season and your life can change'
It was approximately 1 a.m. on Tuesday when Mason Kraus, exhausted and bleary-eyed, touched down in Winnipeg after 28 hours of delay and layover-filled travel from Chile.
The 23-year-old was happy to be home but didn't regret it for a second.
'It was not great, but I'd do it again,' Kraus said Wednesday.
AXEL CHRISTIANSEN PHOTO
University of Manitoba Bisons guard Mason Kraus captained Team Canada to a second-place finish at the FIBA U23 3X3 Nations League tournament.
The local hoops standout recently made his international debut, leading Team Canada to a runner-up finish at the FIBA U23 3X3 Nations League tournament in Punta Arenas.
Kraus, a Canada West First Team All-Star guard with the University of Manitoba Bisons and 2025 second-round draft pick of the Winnipeg Sea Bears, was never supposed to play in the event, but after a player dropped out last minute, he was asked to meet the team in South America on three days' notice.
Shortly after arriving, Kraus was named the team's captain by his teammates before the tournament began.
'To be the captain of the team after basically not going to the thing, it's a crazy confidence boost and… it was crazy to see that, 'Mason is our guy,' and put straight faith into me,' he said.
The event was taxing. Teams played six three-game tournaments — a total of 18 games — in seven days.
Team Canada won the fourth stop and recorded a pair of second and third-place finishes along with a fourth-place finish in the other legs, ending second in points behind the U.S. in the Americas 2 conference.
With a win, the Americans earned an automatic berth to the Nations League Final, which takes place in Xiong'an, China, in September. Meanwhile, Team Canada's fate is in the hands of a selection committee, which will decide whether it qualifies for the league final via a wild-card spot.
'It was a great experience,' Kraus said. 'Obviously, everyone plays different types of basketball, but I've never played at that level. It was a great learning experience, and meeting guys that I played through U Sports.'
Also donning the Maple Leaf were Ethan Boag and Shadynn Smid, who have played against Kraus in the Canada West conference over the years as members of the University of Victoria Vikes, along with fellow U Sports players Tate Christiansen, Owen Kenney and Yohann Sam.
'It was crazy just to see them, and just learn things about how they prepare,' Kraus added. 'And then from the basketball standpoint, it was kind of a confirmation that I'm as good as I think I was, and I was able to show that I'm actually able to play at that level.'
In 3X3, coaches are not permitted to be on the sideline during games. So it's often up to the team captain to draw up plays during timeouts, which Kraus did effectively.
'To be the captain of the team after basically not going to the thing, it's a crazy confidence boost.'–Mason Kraus
The 6-3, 180-pound guard had never played 3X3 competitively beyond a few local tournaments, but his skill set as an excellent shooter and defender made for a smooth transition from five-on-five.
'The one big difference was passing,' he said. 'There's different passes you're supposed to do, and just picking up those little nuances of the game was a little interesting to start, but I feel like I'm a fast learner, and I was able to pick it up.'
Played using one basket in a half-court setting, the game moves faster, and the passing windows are tighter.
Kraus, who prides himself on being a well-conditioned athlete, noted the pace of the smaller game also requires a player's stamina to be akin to a hockey player's, with his time on the court mimicking a shift on the ice.
'It's funny because the game is 10 minutes long — a normal basketball game is 40 — but there were times I was playing the three's and I'm like, 'I've never been this tired in my life,' and I just played for like 45 seconds straight and that's it,' he said.
Kraus won't have much time to rest at home. In fact, he will be living out of a suitcase for the rest of the summer.
On Sunday, he and the Manitoba Bisons will depart for Portugal to play a trio of exhibition contests against local teams to prepare for the upcoming U Sports season.
Kraus will only be there for nine days before he catches another flight to Paraguay, where he will rep the Maple Leaf once again in 3X3 at the Junior Pan Am Games.
It's a jam-packed schedule that won't return him home until the end of August, when he'll have a few days to rest before his university classes resume.
However, just like his time in Chile, Kraus wouldn't trade these experiences for anything.
'It's funny because the game is 10 minutes long — a normal basketball game is 40 — but there were times I was playing the three's and I'm like, 'I've never been this tired in my life,' and I just played for like 45 seconds straight and that's it.'–Mason Kraus
'It's been insane, but this is what I always tell my U of M guys: I've had a good U Sports career, but really the last season is kind of what put me on the map. And I always tell them, 'You only need one really good season… and everything else can change,'' he said.
'It's just crazy. One good season and your life can change.'
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When Kraus returns to the Bisons for his fifth and final season this fall, he is certain teammates and coaches will see a much wiser player, thanks to an already monumental year on the court.
'Little things like that, where I was able to almost take a leadership to a coaching (role), it just builds so much confidence in myself,' Kraus said.
'I'm just excited to be able to bring back my experiences and what I've learned this summer and just apply it.'
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Joshua Frey-SamReporter
Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh.
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