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Kevin Martin has higher expectations
By Tyler Norris Goode
TGOODE@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
October 8, 2006 12:15 am
Before anyone publicly used the words “Kevin Martin” and “NBA” in the same sentence, David Thorpe knew it could happen.
Five summers ago, it wasn’t Martin’s physique or ball-handling skills that convinced the man who was serving as personal coach of NBA stars like Udonis Haslem and Jason Williams. As a rising sophomore at Western Carolina University, Martin’s slender size and weak dribbling skills were unimpressive.
But the way Martin lived in the gym, the way he could score on anyone — and the way he kept coming back for more punishment when much bigger guys knocked him down — made it clear to Thorpe that this could be the first Catamount ever taken in the first round of an NBA draft.
Thorpe was right. Sacramento selected Martin with the 26th pick of the 2004 draft.
Now that Martin is beginning his third NBA season with the Sacramento Kings, Thorpe is starting to use another description for what he believe Martin can become: “All-Star.”
“When he first came to work out for a week with the pros I train, it was tough on him,” Thorpe recalled in a telephone interview earlier this week. “The pros kept beating him up, but he kept coming back. I could see incredible quickness, and I saw a kid who scored 22 points a game in the Southern Conference even though he couldn’t dribble very well.
“The natural development aside, he’s a much better
passer, ball-handler and scorer,” said Thorpe, Martin’s personal coach. “He thought he was pretty good back then, but now he knows he’s a legitimate player. He knows he has a chance to be an All-Star.”
Part of the reason for that confidence comes from the fact Martin averaged nearly 10.8 points while playing 26.8 minutes per game in his second NBA season. The Kings have a new coach, Eric Musselman, and Martin entered camp last week with a chance to become Sacramento’s starting shooting guard.
The last time Martin felt as optimistic about his chances to dominate opponents was his junior season at WCU.
“Coach Musselman has been telling me that he wants me to be aggressive,” Martin said. “He’s given me the green light to do whatever I feel like I can do. It’s the first time I’ve had that freedom since I was in college. I was never told to back off last season, but I did feel like my freshman year (at WCU) when I was on the court with four seniors.”
Martin averaged 13.6 points per game against San Antonio in the playoffs last spring, and he hit a game-winning layup at the buzzer in Game 3 to give Sacramento its first playoff win of the series.
But he considers his proudest moment of last season to be when the team began winning shortly after he filled in for injured starter Bonzi Wells.
“When I was playing well in place of Bonzi and the team came together, we had the fourth-best record in the league after the All-Star Break,” Martin said. “That had to be the highlight.”
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200661007014
Kevin Martin has higher expectations
By Tyler Norris Goode
TGOODE@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
October 8, 2006 12:15 am
Before anyone publicly used the words “Kevin Martin” and “NBA” in the same sentence, David Thorpe knew it could happen.
Five summers ago, it wasn’t Martin’s physique or ball-handling skills that convinced the man who was serving as personal coach of NBA stars like Udonis Haslem and Jason Williams. As a rising sophomore at Western Carolina University, Martin’s slender size and weak dribbling skills were unimpressive.
But the way Martin lived in the gym, the way he could score on anyone — and the way he kept coming back for more punishment when much bigger guys knocked him down — made it clear to Thorpe that this could be the first Catamount ever taken in the first round of an NBA draft.
Thorpe was right. Sacramento selected Martin with the 26th pick of the 2004 draft.
Now that Martin is beginning his third NBA season with the Sacramento Kings, Thorpe is starting to use another description for what he believe Martin can become: “All-Star.”
“When he first came to work out for a week with the pros I train, it was tough on him,” Thorpe recalled in a telephone interview earlier this week. “The pros kept beating him up, but he kept coming back. I could see incredible quickness, and I saw a kid who scored 22 points a game in the Southern Conference even though he couldn’t dribble very well.
“The natural development aside, he’s a much better
passer, ball-handler and scorer,” said Thorpe, Martin’s personal coach. “He thought he was pretty good back then, but now he knows he’s a legitimate player. He knows he has a chance to be an All-Star.”
Part of the reason for that confidence comes from the fact Martin averaged nearly 10.8 points while playing 26.8 minutes per game in his second NBA season. The Kings have a new coach, Eric Musselman, and Martin entered camp last week with a chance to become Sacramento’s starting shooting guard.
The last time Martin felt as optimistic about his chances to dominate opponents was his junior season at WCU.
“Coach Musselman has been telling me that he wants me to be aggressive,” Martin said. “He’s given me the green light to do whatever I feel like I can do. It’s the first time I’ve had that freedom since I was in college. I was never told to back off last season, but I did feel like my freshman year (at WCU) when I was on the court with four seniors.”
Martin averaged 13.6 points per game against San Antonio in the playoffs last spring, and he hit a game-winning layup at the buzzer in Game 3 to give Sacramento its first playoff win of the series.
But he considers his proudest moment of last season to be when the team began winning shortly after he filled in for injured starter Bonzi Wells.
“When I was playing well in place of Bonzi and the team came together, we had the fourth-best record in the league after the All-Star Break,” Martin said. “That had to be the highlight.”
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200661007014
