Richard Mason Rocca (born November 6, 1977) is an American born Italian retired professional

basketball player Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

who played for the

Italian National Basketball Team The Italy men's national basketball team ( it, Nazionale di pallacanestro dell'Italia) represents Italy in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). Italy has qualified for 38 EuroBa ...

. Born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

, his father is of Italian descent. He stands 203 cm tall, weighs 98 kg, and he plays as a

forward-center Forward–center or bigman is a basketball position for players who play or have played both forward and center on a consistent basis. Typically, this means power forward and center, since these are usually the two biggest player positions on ...

Club career

Rocca played collegiately at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

while achieving a degree in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

. Following his college career in 2000, he played basketball for the Trenton Shooting Stars, of the

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The I ...

. In 2001, he moved to Europe joining Aurora Jesi of the Italian

LegADue Serie A2, known for sponsorship reasons as Serie A2 Old Wild West, is a men's basketball league in Italy. It constitutes the second-tier of the Italian league pyramid, below the first division LBA and above the third division Serie B, with pr ...

. Rocca's skills developed through hard work during this span and in 2004 he moved to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. 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 Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, commonly known as Fortitudo Bologna and currently known as Fortitudo Kiğılı Bologna for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy and currently plays in the second division. Histor ...

). 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 Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

. In July 2013, he returned to his former club Aurora Basket Jesi.

Italian League career statistics

, - , align="left" , 2004–05 , align="left" ,

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, 37 , , 16 , , 22.8 , , .559 , , .000 , , .557 , , 7.1 , , .8 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 10.1 , - , align="left" , 2005–06 , align="left" , Napoli , 42 , , 2 , , 22.2 , , .599, , .000 , , .679 , , 7.1 , , .6 , , 1.9 , , .2 , , 10.7 , - , align="left" , 2006–07 , align="left" , Napoli , 37 , , 24 , , 26.1 , , .615 , , .000 , , .549 , , 7.0 , , .8 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , 11.6 , - , align="left" , 2007–08 , align="left" , Napoli , 33 , , 30 , , 27.5 , , .583 , , .000 , , 480 , , 7.9, , 1.1, , 2.3 , , .1 , , 11.2 , - , align="left" , 2008–09 , align="left" ,

Milano Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ha ...

, 40 , , 11 , , 13.9 , , .533 , , .000, , .611 , , 4.3 , , .3 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 5.4 , - , align="left" , 2009–10 , align="left" , Milano , 18 , , 12 , , 22.6 , , 590 , , .000 , , .642, , 5.4 , , .4 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 8.4 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 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 A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

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 Beacon Academy, but now is the interim principal for Baker Demonstration School in Wilmette Illinois. His house was also recently attacked by a toilet paper attack targeted at his eldest daughter, Sofia. This happened on September 27th, 2022.

References

External links

Euroleague.net Player Profile

Basketpedya.com Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocca, Mason 1977 births Living people American people of Italian descent Basketball players from Illinois Centers (basketball) Evanston Township High School alumni Italian men's basketball players Olimpia Milano players Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois Power forwards (basketball) Princeton Tigers men's basketball players Virtus Bologna players Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Italy Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games 2006 FIBA World Championship players American men's basketball players Mediterranean Games medalists in basketball Trenton Shooting Stars players