Jespher
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http://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/2127559.html
For three days during Kevin Martin's visit to Indonesia this week, the Kings shooting guard kept hearing the same question from that country's media chronicling the rare visit from an NBA player.
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For three days during Kevin Martin's visit to Indonesia this week, the Kings shooting guard kept hearing the same question from that country's media chronicling the rare visit from an NBA player.
More:
"They'd ask what advice I had for the kids, and I always said, 'If you work hard, you get rewards,' " Martin said. "That's what they need to hear, because if you see the surroundings there, it's like any other third-world (country). It's just tough. We just don't know how good we have it."
On the final day of Martin's visit, he made sure his advice rang true.
"When I was giving my farewell speech, the kids were there, too, and I said, I always told you if you work hard, you get rewarded, so the NBA paid me $15,000 to go over here … and they (the kids) worked harder than me for those three days so I didn't see how I deserved that. I just wanted to set an example for them and donated the money back to the DBL."
Martin and his grandmother, Maxine Martin, 75, spent four days spreading goodwill and winning over their hosts on the trip that concluded Wednesday. They were treated as celebrities as they toured the local landscape and brought a basketball presence not typically seen in the hoops-starved country.
While Portland assistant coach Joe Prunty and Los Angeles Clippers assistant Neal Meyer joined him, Martin was the head coach for the top 48 players in the DetEksi Basketball League. According to the league's publicist, the DBL is Indonesia's biggest student basketball competition and is bigger than the country's professional leagues.
The league's director, Azrul Ananda, was thrilled the trip finally transpired. The 32-year-old Indonesian man and Sacramento State graduate was supposed to announce July 17 that Martin would shepherd the inaugural Indonesia Development Camp as part of the NBA Cares program. But the headlines of that day instead were of disaster, as the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels in Jakarta were hit by suicide bombers who killed nine people. And while it was more than 400 miles from Martin's scheduled destination in Surabaya, it was more than enough to threaten the trip.
"I said, 'Oh, no, well, maybe it just wasn't meant to be," said Ananda, who grew up in Indonesia but came to America on scholarship. "Then the NBA contacted me, and they said that if Kevin's grandma said no (to the trip), then he would say no."
A perplexed Ananda finally understood the mandate when he was informed Maxine Martin also was making the trip.
"Usually players bring their buddies, or girlfriends, fiancées, or wives, but grandma?" Ananda said. "Everybody thought that was cool."
Martin said his grandmother also deserved a reward for her hard work, as she had not traveled overseas and spent much of her later years caring for her late husband.
"She always gets to read about me and things I do," he said, "but she never got to experience it firsthand."
It was a new experience in almost every way even for Martin. Upon his arrival, the newspaper in Surabaya splashed a greeting across the top of its front page showing Martin with his arms spread wide. Upon his departure, the paper ran a full-page ad from the DBL with pictures of Martin's visit and messages from dozens of the league's players wishing him well and encouraging him to become an All-Star for the first time this season.
"One time, I felt like (President Barack) Obama – and that's no exaggeration," Martin said. "There were like a thousand … people with signs around the basketball court (in the arena during a DetEksi game). It was crazy.
"It's fun to be able to give back to the community and the world in a good way. It just makes you look at the other side of it, beyond basketball."
On the final day of Martin's visit, he made sure his advice rang true.
"When I was giving my farewell speech, the kids were there, too, and I said, I always told you if you work hard, you get rewarded, so the NBA paid me $15,000 to go over here … and they (the kids) worked harder than me for those three days so I didn't see how I deserved that. I just wanted to set an example for them and donated the money back to the DBL."
Martin and his grandmother, Maxine Martin, 75, spent four days spreading goodwill and winning over their hosts on the trip that concluded Wednesday. They were treated as celebrities as they toured the local landscape and brought a basketball presence not typically seen in the hoops-starved country.
While Portland assistant coach Joe Prunty and Los Angeles Clippers assistant Neal Meyer joined him, Martin was the head coach for the top 48 players in the DetEksi Basketball League. According to the league's publicist, the DBL is Indonesia's biggest student basketball competition and is bigger than the country's professional leagues.
The league's director, Azrul Ananda, was thrilled the trip finally transpired. The 32-year-old Indonesian man and Sacramento State graduate was supposed to announce July 17 that Martin would shepherd the inaugural Indonesia Development Camp as part of the NBA Cares program. But the headlines of that day instead were of disaster, as the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels in Jakarta were hit by suicide bombers who killed nine people. And while it was more than 400 miles from Martin's scheduled destination in Surabaya, it was more than enough to threaten the trip.
"I said, 'Oh, no, well, maybe it just wasn't meant to be," said Ananda, who grew up in Indonesia but came to America on scholarship. "Then the NBA contacted me, and they said that if Kevin's grandma said no (to the trip), then he would say no."
A perplexed Ananda finally understood the mandate when he was informed Maxine Martin also was making the trip.
"Usually players bring their buddies, or girlfriends, fiancées, or wives, but grandma?" Ananda said. "Everybody thought that was cool."
Martin said his grandmother also deserved a reward for her hard work, as she had not traveled overseas and spent much of her later years caring for her late husband.
"She always gets to read about me and things I do," he said, "but she never got to experience it firsthand."
It was a new experience in almost every way even for Martin. Upon his arrival, the newspaper in Surabaya splashed a greeting across the top of its front page showing Martin with his arms spread wide. Upon his departure, the paper ran a full-page ad from the DBL with pictures of Martin's visit and messages from dozens of the league's players wishing him well and encouraging him to become an All-Star for the first time this season.
"One time, I felt like (President Barack) Obama – and that's no exaggeration," Martin said. "There were like a thousand … people with signs around the basketball court (in the arena during a DetEksi game). It was crazy.
"It's fun to be able to give back to the community and the world in a good way. It just makes you look at the other side of it, beyond basketball."
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