Sports

Louisville Students Design Diabolical ‘Bane Mask’ For Basketball Player With Gruesome Face Injury

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James Scott Mask Louisville Basketball
© Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images / Warner Bros.

James Scott returned to the court for Louisville during Wednesday’s college basketball game against N.C. State after a gruesome face injury required him to make an emergency trip to the dentist. He debuted the most intimidating protective mask in sports history.

And to make it even cooler, it was actually designed by his fellow students!

Scott followed head coach Pat Kelsey to Louisville in May after playing his freshman season of college basketball at Charleston. The 6-foot-11 forward is averaging 7.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore. He is the most important frontcourt player on the team.

Thus, it was important that Scott missed as little time as possible after taking a beating against Miami. Blood was pouring out of his mouth, which he could not keep closed.

Kelsey revealed the extent of Scott’s injury earlier in the week.

It was much more than just, you know, just a tooth popping out. He had both front teeth knocked out, and then it got pushed so far up into his gum that they had to go in and, like, extract pieces. It was a lot more extensive than just, you know, getting your tooth knocked out, which is pretty extensive anyway.

So, he spent quite a bit of time on Saturday in a dentist chair, in his basketball uniform, which is unique […] but he’s such a tough kid. Like, he’s walking off the floor, you know, blood is coming out of his mouth and he looks at me “I’m good, I’m good, I’m good, I’m ready.” Like, James, just relax. Let’s get this taken care of.

And then he texts our strength couch, while he’s in the dentist chair, to see if he could lift the next morning. Then he texts me about 32 times making sure I knew he’d be ready to play.

— Pat Kelsey

There was also some extra motivation for him to get back on the floor against the Wolfpack.

James is from right down the road, so coming back here (to North Carolina) means a lot to him. His mom’s here, his grandfather’s here, who he’s named after. His grandfather is a veteran. He’s out there, if you guys saw him in the wheelchair, it was just awesome for him to see his grandson, his namesake, out here on the biggest stage in the ACC catching lobs, getting his teeth knocked out, the whole gamut. It’s pretty darn cool.

— Pat Kelsey

James Scott was ultimately cleared to play with a protective mask. It looked different, and more intimidating, than most.

James Scott Mask Louisville Basketball

Not only did Scott suffer from some serious dental damage, he also fractured some bones in his face. There was no way for him to play unless there was something rigid to keep everything in place as well as mitigate damage from any potential contact. Students at the University of Louisville’s School of Engineering got him fitted with a mask they designed specifically for their star big man. That’s pretty cool.

Bane famously famously said that nobody cared who he was before he put on the mask. Although that is not the case with James Scott, who people cared about before the mask, it continues to grow his legend.

The Cardinals dominated its opponent on Wednesday. Scott finished with six points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal in a 91-66 victory over N.C. State while rocking the diabolical mask!