Jim Master (born March 16, 1962) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He played collegiately for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

High school

Master's family moved to the

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

community during his high school years, and he attended Paul Harding High School as a junior and senior and played for the Hawks. During his junior year, Master led the Hawks to the school's first ever Indiana state tournament wins at the sectional and regional levels. As a senior, Master set SAC records for most points scored in a season. His outstanding year was acknowledged when he was awarded the 1980

Indiana Mr. Basketball award The Indiana Mr. Basketball honor recognizes the top high school basketball player in the state of Indiana. The award is presented annually by ''The Indianapolis Star''. The first Indiana Mr. Basketball was George Crowe of Franklin High School i ...

. His high school coach, Harlan Frick, is on record saying he believes Master is the finest shooting guard ever to play in Fort Wayne. *High School Honors and Accomplishments ** 1980

** 1980 2nd team

Parade All-American ''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a readership of 5 ...

** 1980

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger s ...

College

Master attended the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

on a basketball scholarship. He was part of the 1980 recruiting class that included

Melvin Turpin Melvin Harrison Turpin (December 28, 1960 – July 8, 2010) was an American professional basketball player. He played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an All-American college player at the University of Kentucky, ...

, Bret Bearup, and Dickie Beal. This group was considered by PrepSports.com as the best recruiting class in the nation. It was also rated by one as the eighth-best Wildcat recruiting class of all time. Master was seen as the best outside shooter in the country. Besides Kentucky, Master was reported as being recruited by Notre Dame During Master's freshman (1980/81) season, two players were named as all-SEC selections (a first-team and a third-team). The 1981/82 season ended with four players (including Master) named as all-SEC selections (a first-team, a second-team and two third-teams). The 1982/83 season ended with four players (including Master) named as all-SEC selections (a first-team and three third-teams). And the 1983/84 season ended with three players named as all-SEC selections (a first-team, a second-team and a third-teams).http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/kty/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/all-time-awards-honors.pdf Master and his Wildcat teammates translated their talent to wins and lofty national rankings. The 1980/81 team finished the season 22-6 and ranked 8th best nationally in both the Pand PIpolls. The team played in the NCAA tournament as a #2 seed. The 1981/82 team finished the season 22-8 and ranked 15th best nationally in the AP poll. The team was a SEC regular-season co-champion, and they played in the NCAA tournament as a #6 seed. The 1982/83 team finished the season 23-8 and ranked 12th in the AP poll and 10th in the UPI version. The team was the SEC regular-season champion, and they reached the NCAA Regional Finals from a #3 seed. The 1983/84 team finished the season 29-5 and ranked 3rd in both polls. The team was SEC regular-season and tournament champions, and they reached the NCAA Final Four from a #1 seed. The talent on each of these Wildcat teams meant Master had a successful career that did not translate into lofty personal statistics. For his career, Master averaged 10.6 points, 2.10 assists, and 1.73 rebounds per game. But his value to the team was demonstrated by his playing time that averaged 28.7 minutes per game over his career and 31.4 minutes after his freshman year. As testimony to his keen shooting eye, Master is currently 11th best all-time on the SEC record list for single-season free-throw shooting percentage (.896), and he is tied for 8th best all-time for career free-throw shooting percentage (.849) Those statistics rank Master 8th best and 4th best, respectively, all-time in Kentucky history. *College Honors and Accomplishments ** 1981/82 3rd team UPI All-SEC ** 1982/83 3rd team AP, UPI All-SEC ** 1982/83 All-NCAA Regional team ** member of gold-medal team, 1983 Pan American Games

Professional

Master was one of five

to be drafted in the 1984 NBA Draft.

and

Sam Bowie Samuel Paul Bowie (born March 17, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. A national sensation in high school and outstanding collegian and Olympic team member, Bowie's professional promise was undermined by repeated injuries ...

were 1st round selections and went on to play in the NBA for several seasons. Dickie Beal, Tom Heitz, and Master were drafted in later rounds, but none would play in a single NBA game.

Post-career

Master now works as a

financial advisor A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...

at Hilliard Lyons in Lexington, Kentucky. In 2013, he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Master’s game-by-game college statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Master, Jim 1962 births Living people American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Basketball players at the 1983 Pan American Games Basketball players from Fort Wayne, Indiana Financial advisors Guards (basketball) Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games