Article By: Johnny CullenHis dad handed him a ball, and he took the shot.
What he didn’t know then is how much of an impact basketball would have on his life.
Javon Masters is a first-year arts student at the University of New Brunswick (UNB). He has been playing basketball competitively since the age of seven, but even before he started playing in an organized league he was shooting hoops with his dad since the age of two.
“My dad gave me the ball and I just shot it . . . and I fell in love with the game.”
Masters attributes his passion for basketball to his dad.
“Me and my dad would watch Toronto Raptors games and go see them live,” he said. “And since then I’ve just been in love with the game.”
The Kitchener, Ont. native has been playing “rep” basketball, the highest level in Ontario, since he was in the fifth grade.
Throughout his high school years, Masters played for three teams. For the majority of his high school career, he played for Forest Heights Collegiate Institute in Kitchener. In his senior year he transferred to a private school, St. John’s-Kilmarnock in Waterloo for basketball. He also played for the Waterloo Wildhawks rep team, who had a very successful season in Masters’s last year with the club.
“We [the Wildhawks] finished third in the province last year and we were a really high division 1 team,” said Masters.
Now 19 years old, the student-athlete has high hopes for his four years wearing the Varsity Reds jersey.
But these high hopes go beyond the basketball court.
Masters enjoys being successful in everything he does. Whether it is in the classroom or on the hardwood, he puts in a solid effort.
UNB is known for successful athletic programs, and excellence in academics. Naturally, this made UNB seem like a good fit for the athlete.
Masters says that UNB’s style of play, “really up-tempo and good in transition” is something that caught his attention when he was choosing a university. His relationship with the Varsity Reds coaching staff also played a key role in bringing him out east.
Approaching the end of his first semester, Masters thinks that his decision to come to UNB was a good one.
“I’m really liking it. Everyone is so friendly – it’s a nice atmosphere and the professors are understanding,” he said.
In addition to the basketball, the first-year student-athlete said he has also enjoyed the academic side of his university experience so far. If basketball doesn’t become a profession for him, Masters would gladly take sports broadcasting as an alternative.
He hopes, however, his basketball career will take off at UNB.
“In the end, I want to play professionally – that’s every basketball player’s dream,” he said. “I want to go down as one of the best players to ever play in this conference.”
In order to reach this level, Masters thinks he needs to get stronger, quicker, and more consistent in shooting. He’s optimistic though, and plans to improve in all of these areas by the end of the season.
Moving forward, Masters wants to help the Reds win the Atlantic University Sport championships this season.
“We have the talent to do it. We’ve got off to a good start, but we still have a marathon of a season with 18 games left.”
For now though, Masters is happy.
“It’s been a great experience so far, and I’ve still got four more years to enjoy it,” he said. “I just want to play my game and not force anything.”
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