KITCHENER — Javon Masters is coming home, sort of.

The Kitchener point guard is taking his talent to Steeltown as he readies for his debut with the Hamilton Honey Badgers in the upstart Canadian Elite Basketball League.

It's the first time the six-footer has hit the hard court near Waterloo Region since dominating the high school scene at Forest Heights Collegiate Institute six years ago.

"All my friends and family can come and watch me instead of following me on a screen," he said. "It's kind of like when I was in high school and they came to all my games. I'm excited for that."

Masters has been busy since leaving the Trojans.

The 24-year-old spent five years at the University of New Brunswick where he set — and still owns — a Canadian U Sports record with 2,407 career points.

He parlayed that performance into a one-year deal with Rio Ourense Termal, a second division club in northwestern Spain. The team finished seventh out of 18 squads in the regular season and made it to the final four in the playoffs before bowing out.

"We weren't expected to go that far," he said. "That was a big accomplishment."

Masters averaged 5.9 points per game in Spain and received a regular paycheque, meals and an apartment, not to mention all the travel to tilts in cities such as Bilbao, Seville and Madrid, which were all well attended by Ourense supporters.

"The people were super friendly," he said. "They really take their basketball seriously over there."

Masters had to adjust to the language, style of play and to his new role as the backup point guard after years of being the go-to guy at UNB.

"There were some growing pains and some ups and downs," said the former Waterloo Wildhawk player. "Going into a whole other country and a different brand of basketball had its challenges. I felt like I held my own given the opportunities I had."

And now, it's time for a new test.

The fledgling CEBL launched last month with three teams in Ontario and a trio out west in Saskatoon, Edmonton and Abbotsford, B.C. All six teams are owned by businessman Richard Petko with players earning $400 to $1,500 per game.

The aim of the league is to foster the burgeoning basketball talent in Canada and to offer homegrown hoopsters a chance to make it on their own turf.

"The game in Canada is growing," said Masters. "It's good to have somewhere to play and develop and to not have to always travel all over the world."

Since returning from Spain about two weeks ago, Masters has been practising with the club under Chantal Vallee, who is the first female general manager and head coach of a men's professional basketball team.

The Honey Badgers are off to an impressive 7-3 start, which is good for second place in the league. Masters figures he'll see his first action when the team hosts the Fraser Valley Bandits on July 6.

The CEBL season wraps up in late August. After that, Masters would love to return to Spain for an encore but is open to a deal with a team in any country.

"I always thought I'd be doing this for a living," he said. "I always had faith. I've put a lot of work into this. The past year showed that I can do it. I just want to keep going as long as I can."

jbrown@therecord.com

Twitter: @BrownRecord

Josh Brown | June 25, 2019 | Waterloo Region Record