10 years ago, you couldn’t have counted a handful of Canadians playing in Germany. But how times have changed. Some Canadian players have shown in the last years to be have been real gems. I have been lucky that I was able to cover Canada’s greatest college player of all-time with Philip Scrubb in the 2015-2016 season as he played for the Fraport Skyliners and continued his winning ways there helping the club with his precision deadly three point shooting and rare unselfishness to the Fiba Europe Cup title. What made him to be the greatest Canadian college player of all-time was his amazing 8 titles at the famed Carleton University. You just can’t go wrong with Carleton players as this season the Fraport Skyliners have another gem from Carleton with Aiden Warnholtz who won 6 titles there. He may not have won as many titles as Scrubb, but hey 6 isn’t too bad either. By most standards, it’s the titles that give players the standing as greatest just ask Michael Jordan. But sometimes guys sparkle with their overwhelming incredible statistics even if the titles didn’t grow from a tree the way they did for Scrubb. Germany now has another gem from Canada by the name of Javon Masters (182-PG-1994, college: UNB, agency: Blacktop Management) who signed with easyCredit BBL team Tigers Tuebingen. He may only have won 1 title in his career in Canada, but his stats what he showcased at the University of New Brunswick (CIS) were literally mind boggling. In his 5 seasons in the CIS, he averaged 24,0ppg and already lit it up in his freshman and sophomore seasons average 28,0ppg and 27,0ppg. In comparison, the best scoring average season of Scrubb was 18,6ppg. He won 5 scoring titles and one could say from his play, he was a master of Canadian College basketball. But who knows what would of happened had he gone to Cape Breton where he initially wanted to go, but didn’t because in the last moment another player took his spot. Not having gone to Cape Breton put a massive chip on his shoulder that hasn’t left him. ‘, It’s funny every time telling this story but it sure put a chip on my shoulder and it’s stuck with me even in the professional ranks now. I’m always willing to get better and push myself and always use that slight to motivate me to try and be the best I can be no matter the circumstance that I face’, warned Javon Masters. If you mention the name Philip Scrubb to Javon Masters, then you get nothing but respect. ‘Philip Scrubb is one of the greatest to ever play CIS basketball. I never played against him but we did cross paths my freshman year at the National awards and he did play in a different conference than me’, stated Javon Masters. Javon Masters was definitely a master of Canadian college basketball and continues to make strides overseas.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Phil Scrubb in Frankfurt in 2018

Javon Masters who lists Jamal Murray and Xavier Rathan Mayes as the toughest players he ever faced is a 28 year old 183cm guard that was born in Kitchener, Canada. He attended Forest Heights high school and was introduced to basketball at a young age. He was allowed to shoot on the Toronto Raptors court and quickly found a love for one of the greatest dunkers of all-time. ‘Being able to shoot on that Raptors court really did spark my interest in basketball but like many Canadians that go on to play high level, I think the biggest inspiration was Vince Carter and what he meant for not just Toronto but the entire country’, stated Javon Masters. He has followed the Raptors his whole life and now will observe from a far how new German world champion Dennis Schroeder will fare there. ‘Dennis will love Toronto, the culture and the atmosphere that the city will give him is second to none and being able to play with Pascal and Scottie will give him opportunities to thrive’, stressed Javon Masters. He played at the University of Brunswick from 2013-2018 winning the Aus title in his last year. ‘Winning the title means everything to me. UNB will hold a special place in my heart and to cap off my career with a title that the school didn’t see for 51 years just there aren’t really many words to describe it’, said Javon Masters. He had so many incredible games in school, but besides the AUS title, there was another thrilling game. ‘It would be the game against St Mary’s where I became the all-time leading scorer in Canadian university history where I had 39 points and we won that game in my senior season’, remembered Javon Masters. He didn’t only discover his lethal scoring in school, but also the all-day breakfast for energy. ‘It helped when you had early classes and it filled you up plus it was kind of cheap so could save me some money you know’, smiled Javon Masters. Every player in school has that coach that helped groom them to become the player they are today. For Phil Scrubb, it was Dave Smart and for Javon Masters it was Brent Baker. ‘Brent Baker helped me become the man and player I am today. Just how to prepare, game me a different perspective not just in basketball but in life and he was always there for me during the good and bad times of my career’, warned Javon Masters.

The explosive guard who lists Lebron, Jordan, Shaq & Steph on his personal NBA Mount Rushmore began his professional career in Spain with Rio Ourense Termal (Spain-LEB Gold) averaging 5.9ppg, 1.6rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 40.3%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 74.7%. It was a difficult rookie season as he had to swallow not averaging 20 plus points per game like in Canada. ‘I learned just to stay patient and be ready, that was a different experience for me because I was the main guy in University and then coming to that situation I wasn’t playing much and I felt like I wasn’t providing anything for the team. So I just worked and prepared myself to be ready for any situation that was thrown my way’, stated Javon Masters. His probably 2 best memories of that season was beating FC Barcelona’s farm team and battling against future NBA player Leandro Bolmaro. ‘He was a skilled big guard that was physical, can shoot It a bit but was very good at distributing the ball to his teammates’, remembered Javon Masters. He finished his rookie season gaining experience at home with the Hamilton Honey Badgers (Canada-CEBL) averaging 2.0ppg, 1.2rpg. But after one time, he preferred to work on his game during the summers instead of continuing. ‘It’s a great league, and the biggest memory for me was making the final in its inaugural season’, remembered Javon Masters. He then played his next 3 seasons in Romania starting with CS Dinamo Stiinta Bucuresti (Romania-Liga Nationala) putting up solid and consistent stats averaging 12.7ppg, 3.4rpg, 4.7apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 54.2%, 3PT: 26.8%, FT: 76.4% and in his second season averaged 12.0ppg, 3.0rpg, 3.4apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 55.4%, 3PT: 41.5%, FT: 62.3%. Romania became like a second home to him. ‘I got use to the language and food a bit so that was nice. Basketball wise it was really good test at the time for me playing against so big teams that played European competitions so that kind of set me up for France and now here in Germany. I think living in Bucharest was good getting a different experience as opposed to the one I lived with in Canada, different culture way of live new surroundings makes you appreciate a lot of things’, commented Javon Masters. His best scoring game in those 2 years was 23 points against Cluj Napoca. In his third season in Romania he played with CSM Galati (Romania-Liga Nationala) averaging 15.9ppg, 3.2rpg, 4.2apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 46.3%, 3PT: 37.8%, FT: 79.6%. His game reminded him again a bit on his scoring days in Canada as he scored in double figures in 30 of 34 games and exploded against Craiova with 35 points. ‘I was just being confident and trusting myself and all the work I put in during the season and before as well’, expressed Javon Masters. Last season he had a change of scenery playing with Stade Rochelais Basket (France-ProB) averaging 13.7ppg, 3.1rpg, 2.9apg, FGP: 50.6%, 3PT: 29.7%, FT: 80.8%. He lost 8 of the first 9 games. After that the season went in a certain direction that wasn’t up. ‘It was a tough way to start the year but we rallied in the end of December to get on a hot streak and just pulled it thru in the later months. Just to try and stay level headed, it’s a long season you’ll have lows and highs but just to buy in and believe you can accomplish something was the biggest thing I feel’, remembered Javon Masters. He scored in double figures in 25 of 34 games including scoring 23 points against Asa twice and once against Angers.

The Canadian native who feels the classic flick Coming To America should have been left alone has started a new challenge in Germany with easyCredit BBl team Tigers Tuebingen. Not every player can say ‘hey I’m playing in Germany home of the 2023 world champions of basketball. ‘It’s amazing, being able to play here in such a high level league like the BBL and it’s always nice to challenge yourself and play the best and this is something I’ve been working on for my entire life to get to this point’, said Javon Masters. He has joined a team which is back in the easyCredit BBL after many years in the Pro A. Will he feel more pressure than in other situations? ‘It’s been great so far being with the players, coaches and being within the organization and they have made my time so far so comfortable but in terms of pressure I don’t see it that way, I see it as a way to get better and play against some of the best teams in Europe and measure ourselves against them. Obviously our goal is to win every game, but we just need to get better week to week’, warned Javon Masters. He is finally on the biggest stage in his basketball career as the German easyCredit BBL is a top 5 league in Europe. How well will his game translate to the BBL and will he be a scorer again? I’m excited, these are always the leagues you want to challenge yourself and go against the best and I’ve been working hard and preparing myself as best as I can to try and get to this point. I feel my game can translate to here but I just got to trust our coaches and my teammates to put us in positions to succeed and work together. I mean, you’re always playing with great players around you so it’s adjusting to who’s around you. These last couple years I’ve been more of a point guard getting others involved but any moment like you said I can score so it’s always picking and choosing those spots to be effective in both facilitating and being aggressive’, stressed Javon Masters.

Javon Masters who remembers winning more 1-1 duels in practice against Jessie Kendall is a small guard that has that pit bull in him a la Kyle Lowery. He also has been compared to Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook on account of his speed. Even if he is known as a pure scorer, versatility is a big part of his game. ‘I’m just trying to put our team in positions to be successful and be an extension of the coach on the floor and do anything to win. So if that means to score, defend ,rebound or facilitate then I’m cool with it’, stated Javon Masters. His three pointer continues to be a work in progress as it has been up and down, but he hopes that it can become more stable in the next years. ‘Just reps on reps, last year I over thought a lot of shots but I know I’ve put in the work to be a consistent shooter. I just got to trust my mechanics and the believe that every shot will go in and the results can speak for itself’, stressed Javon Masters. He doesn’t only want to shine with his offensive input, but also on the defensive end. ‘I feel with my quickness and lateral speed I can guard a lot of guards and I think to add on that side of the ball just off ball being more better’, warned Javon Masters. To be able to be consistent and successful in the easyCredit BBL, you have to grind extra in the lab. ‘Just being more assertive and just playing, I think sometimes I overthink in situations which causes me to lose confidence and what not so just going out and playing and leaving it all out on the floor and just live with the results’,added Javon Masters. Making the next step in the easyCredit BBL is a tough one as he is averaging only 4,6ppg, 1,4rpg and 2,2apg in 14,4 minutes per game. The All day breakfast definitely must of given him extra energy on game days in Canada. He definitely didn’t get the full dose of the all day breakfasts in Tuebingen, but this fierce competitor will get another chance to show his worth as the club prolonged his short term contract to mid January.