MORE ON THE MAN AND THE MASK. KENT. HEY, RICK. YEAH. LOUISVILLE’S JAMES SCOTT HAS BEEN AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE CARDS SUCCESS THIS SEASON, BUT A FACIAL INJURY NEARLY SIDELINED HIM. AND THAT’S WHEN U OF L ENGINEERING STUDENTS STEPPED IN, CREATING A 3D MASK TO GET SCOTT BACK ON THE COURT. WLKY’S ADDIE MEINERS GOT A FIRSTHAND LOOK AT THE PROCESS TO CREATE IT. IF YOU’VE WATCHED A LOUISVILLE BASKETBALL GAME THIS SEASON, YOU’VE PROBABLY SEEN JAMES SCOTT WEARING THIS MASK ON HIS FACE THAT MAKES HIM LOOK LIKE BANE FROM BATMAN. BUT IT WAS NO LAUGHING MATTER WHEN THE TEAM HAD TO PUT OUT THE BAT CALL TO SAVE SCOTT’S SEASON, AND THE ENGINEERS HERE AT AMOS ANSWERED THAT CALL. I NEVER REALLY THOUGHT THAT, LIKE, 3D PRINTING WOULD LEAD TO LIKE, ME ACTUALLY, LIKE IMPACTING PEOPLE’S LIVES. BUT I’M GLAD IT HAS. IT’S BEEN REALLY, REALLY NEAT. ALL RIGHT. AS SOPHIE WAGNER, IS A U OF L SPEED SCHOOL ENGINEER AND LIFELONG CARDS FAN, WORK TO PERFECT THE THIRD MASK SHE’S MADE FOR FORWARD JAMES SCOTT. SHE WAS THINKING BACK ON WHEN SHE FIRST SAW SCOTT INJURE HIS FACE IN THE GAME AGAINST MIAMI, AND I SAW THE EMAIL BEING LIKE, HEY, WE HAVE THIS INJURY. WE NEED THIS MASK. AND I WAS LIKE, OKAY, I GOT TO GET TO WORK. LIKE, RIGHT NOW. WEGNER AND HER COWORKER JUSTIN GILLAM SAY THEY HAD MADE MASKS FOR STUDENT ATHLETES AT UOFL BEFORE. THE PROCESS NORMALLY TAKES ABOUT A WEEK, BUT THE TURNAROUND ON THIS MASK WAS MUCH TIGHTER THAN THAT BECAUSE THE CARDS HAD AN AWAY GAME AT NC STATE, AND SCOTT, A NORTH CAROLINA NATIVE, WANTED TO PLAY. SO HE CAME IN PROBABLY A FEW HOURS AFTER WE GOT THAT EMAIL, WE SCANNED HIS FACE. IT TOOK ALL OF LIKE TEN MINUTES AND THEN THEN WE WERE OFF TO THE 3D PRINTERS. SO WHILE WEGNER MAKES THE PROCESS SOUND SIMPLE, AFTER SEEING IT, I CAN ASSURE YOU IT’S NOT. IT USES THE SAME TECHNOLOGY AS LIKE YOUR PHONE. WHEN YOU DO, YOUR FACE PASSCODE, BUT IT SHOOTS ALL THESE LITTLE LIGHTS AT YOUR FACE AND IT TAKES LIKE DIFFERENT POINTS. THOSE POINTS BUILD A 3D MODEL OF YOUR FACE ON THE COMPUTER. THEN GILLAM USES THAT MODEL TO CREATE THE MASK. BUT THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN IT’S RIGHT OUT OF THE SCANNER. SO I HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHERE DOES HE NEED PROTECTION? WHAT’S THE GOAL OF THIS MASK? GILLAM SAYS HE CAN TEST FIT THE MASK DIRECTLY TO SCOTT’S FACE USING THE COMPUTER. HE’S ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DESIGN. THERE’S, LIKE, I PROBABLY COULD HAVE JUST PUT, LIKE, HOLES IN THERE THAT MAY MAKE IT LOOK A LITTLE LESS SCARY, BUT THIS WAS JUST DOING IT FAST. JUST IF THIS WORKS, IT WORKS. NOT ONLY DID IT PROTECT SCOTT’S FACE, BUT IT MADE HIM INTO A NATIONAL MEME, SOMETHING CARDS FANS COULDN’T GET ENOUGH OF. IT’S BEEN PRETTY FUNNY SEEING THE KIDS IN THE STUDENT SECTION WEARING LIKE BANE COSTUMES. IT’S LIKE ALL WE DID THAT LIKE IT WAS AN ACCIDENT. BUT IT’S PRETTY FUNNY HOW IT WORKED OUT. WHILE IT’S ALL FUNNY NOW, BOTH GILLAM AND WEGNER WERE JUST GLAD TO SEE THE MASK DID ITS JOB AND THEIR HARD WORK PAID OFF. NOW, JUST IN TIME FOR THE POSTSEASON, THEY’VE PERFECTED THEIR CREATION. THE ACTUAL LIKE STURDINESS OF IT AND LIKE, PROTECTIVE ABILITIES OR JUST LIKE THE WAY IT LOOKS AND LIKE THE SMOOTHNESS OF IT ALL. I FEEL LIKE EACH TIME IT’S JUST BEEN SLOWLY PROGRESSING INTO LIKE THE PERFECT PIECE OF PROTECTIVE GEAR FOR HIM. THAT IS SO COOL TO SEE THAT AND BE LIKE, WE DESIGNED AND 3D PRINTED THAT HERE IN OUR LAB, AND NOW IT’S OUT TRAVELING THE COUNTRY PLAYING BASKETBALL. IT’S
Notice UofL guard James Scott’s mask? Made by students, it’s more intricate than it looks
Updated: 12:03 PM EDT Mar 20, 2025
Reporter/Multimedia Journalist
The University of Louisville’s James Scott has been an integral piece of the men’s basketball team this season.He was temporarily sidelined by a facial injury. That’s when students at UofL’s school of engineering stepped in.The students came together and developed a 3D mask to help Scott get back on the court.If you’ve watched the Cardinals play this season, you’ve likely seen the mask created for Scott. “I never really thought that, like, 3D printing would lead to like, me actually, like impacting people’s lives. But I’m glad it has, because it’s been pretty neat,” said Sophie Wegenast, UofL Speed School engineer.As Wegenast worked to perfect the third mask she’s made for Scott, she was thinking back on when she first saw him injure his face against Miami.”I saw the email being like, ‘Hey, we have this injury, we need this mask.’ And I was like… okay, I got to get to work, like, right now,” said Wegenast.Wegenast and her coworker Justin Gillham say they made masks for student-athletes at UofL before, with the process taking about a week. But this time, the turnaround was tighter than that.”So he came in probably a few hours after we got that email, and then that was pretty much that,” Wegenast said. “We scanned his face. It took all of like ten minutes. And then it was off to the 3D printers.”While Wegenast makes the process sound simple, it’s not.”It uses the same technology as, like, your phone when you do your face passcode. But it shoots all these little lights at your face, and it takes, like, different points,” Wegenast said.Those points build a 3D model of a person’s face on the computer. Then, Gillham uses that model to create the mask.Gillham says they test fit the mask directly to Scott’s face using the computer.”I probably could have just put like, holes in there that may make it look a little less scary, but this was just doing it fast,” Gillham said.Not only did the mask protect Scott’s face, but it made him into a national meme; something Cards fans couldn’t get enough of.”It’s been pretty funny that seeing the kids in the student section wearing like, Bane costumes, it’s like, oh, we did that like it was an accident. But it’s pretty funny how it worked out,” Gillham said.Wegenast and Gillham are both glad to see the mask did its job. Now, in time for the NCAA Tournament, they’ve perfected their creation.Scott and the Cardinals will open up the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. against Creighton in Lexington.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. —The University of Louisville’s James Scott has been an integral piece of the men’s basketball team this season.
He was temporarily sidelined by a facial injury. That’s when students at UofL’s school of engineering stepped in.
The students came together and developed a 3D mask to help Scott get back on the court.
If you’ve watched the Cardinals play this season, you’ve likely seen the mask created for Scott.
“I never really thought that, like, 3D printing would lead to like, me actually, like impacting people’s lives. But I’m glad it has, because it’s been pretty neat,” said Sophie Wegenast, UofL Speed School engineer.
As Wegenast worked to perfect the third mask she’s made for Scott, she was thinking back on when she first saw him injure his face against Miami.
“I saw the email being like, ‘Hey, we have this injury, we need this mask.’ And I was like… okay, I got to get to work, like, right now,” said Wegenast.
Wegenast and her coworker Justin Gillham say they made masks for student-athletes at UofL before, with the process taking about a week. But this time, the turnaround was tighter than that.
“So he came in probably a few hours after we got that email, and then that was pretty much that,” Wegenast said. “We scanned his face. It took all of like ten minutes. And then it was off to the 3D printers.”
While Wegenast makes the process sound simple, it’s not.
“It uses the same technology as, like, your phone when you do your face passcode. But it shoots all these little lights at your face, and it takes, like, different points,” Wegenast said.
Those points build a 3D model of a person’s face on the computer. Then, Gillham uses that model to create the mask.
Gillham says they test fit the mask directly to Scott’s face using the computer.
“I probably could have just put like, holes in there that may make it look a little less scary, but this was just doing it fast,” Gillham said.
Not only did the mask protect Scott’s face, but it made him into a national meme; something Cards fans couldn’t get enough of.
“It’s been pretty funny that seeing the kids in the student section wearing like, Bane costumes, it’s like, oh, we did that like it was an accident. But it’s pretty funny how it worked out,” Gillham said.
Wegenast and Gillham are both glad to see the mask did its job.
Now, in time for the NCAA Tournament, they’ve perfected their creation.
Scott and the Cardinals will open up the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. against Creighton in Lexington.
