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Peter wrote an article when Alex Martin materialized on the Gonzaga Men’s Roster at the beginning of last season. Not much has changed.
The 6‘ 5”, 205 lb guard out of Overland Park Kansas didn’t make a lot of noise on the court last year, he played seven total minutes in four games. He was selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Honors Court (along with Josh Perkins, Jack Beach and former Zag Brian Pete) for academic juniors or seniors carrying a minimum of a 3.2 G.P.A. In fact, he has a string of academic honors throughout his time in high school and two previous years of college. Swell, but what does he bring to the court?
As the winner of his high school’s team defense award his senior year, he hopefully brings defensive toughness along with size to the “Red Team”. The “Red Team” non-regular players who mimic the upcoming opponents in practice during the week. It may not sound that important, until you realize how much banging against Ryan Edwards helped Sabonis, Karnowski and Collins. Think back to the roster two years ago when GU went to the NCAA finals, the Red Team had Edwards, Jeremy Jones, Bryan Alberts, Dustin Triano and Rem Bakamus. That’s the starting line-up for mid-level WCC team to practice against.
Alex Martin probably won’t see a lot of court time during the upcoming season, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been contributing to the team. You have to admire a player who gives up a free education and certain playing time at a smaller school to get a top-quality education and be a member of an elite basketball team. Spend a couple hundred hours guarding and banging bodies with Norvell, Kispert and Hachimura and you’ve earned your spot on the roster.