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Masters named 2012-13 Putnam County Girls' Basketball Player of the Year
On her way to leading the county in both scoring and field goal percentage, South Putnam senior Leanna Masters approached her coach with some concerns.
Masters wasn't sure she was doing enough to help her team.
"She's frustrated after a game if she feels like she didn't do enough to help her team, not about personal stats," SP girls' basketball coach Lindsey Blackman said. "She never asked me once during the season about personal stats. It was all about, 'What do I need to do to help my team?' That's all you can ask for in a senior and a post player with that much talent."
Masters averaged 12.2 points, made more than half her shots (50.5 percent) and finished one rebound from leading the county, but her competitive nature left her wanting to do more.
After a successful junior year, Masters dedicated herself to working hard over the summer. Part of that was picking up her teammates for voluntary workouts.
"She dedicated herself this summer to be there every day and to get her teammates there everyday and to be that leader," Blackman said. "'No excuses. I'll get you there. I'll come pick you up. You'll come to the gym. You'll work hard,' That was her mentality."
Masters comes from a family of athletes and also helps the Eagles' volleyball and track and field team, but her basketball season lasts all year.
She said being a role model for the younger players means more to her than individual success or awards.
"Stats are just numbers to me; I would rather leave a legacy of being a role model and being a leader than, 'Oh, she scored this many points during the season,'" Masters said. "Players have come up to me and said, 'I look up to you.' That really means a lot because in my eyes I just go out there and play and I don't even realize it. It just feels really good. It's a great accomplishment."
Given the intensity with which Masters plays, and given her talent-level, the stats took care of themselves.
She finished with 176 rebounds, including a county-high 86 on the offensive end. In her junior and senior seasons combined Masters totaled more offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds.
While her aggressiveness occasionally led to foul trouble, Masters said that's just how she plays.
"When I'm on the court, basketball is just me and the ball. I just do what feels natural," Masters said. "Over the back was probably the most common call I got just because I wanted the ball. There were times when I wouldn't even know I was doing it because I didn't see the person in front of me, I would just go for the ball.
"There were some fouls that I thought were kind of, 'WHUT?'"
The Eagles needed her aggressiveness, Blackman said, because of the struggles shooting.
Aside from Masters, the rest of the team combined to shoot 26.6 percent.
"When the rest of the team doesn't have that percentage, it pays off to give you the extra possessions," Blackman said. "(She) understood that her presence meant everything to us and that, when she was on the court, we were a better team."
Masters' accomplishments go beyond the basketball court. She is a member of National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and attends Area 30, where she will soon be certified in nursing.
She plans to attend Ball State University next year to study in the nursing program after she "fell in love with the campus" on a recent visit.
"She is one of those people that leads by example and verbally, and you don't get that combination very often," Blackman said. "She's going to be the one that we miss the most. She was kind of our rock for the last couple years. She really has left a standing legacy with the other post players coming up.
"She's helped them throughout the summer and throughout the season. They look up to her."
More postseason awards here.