Looking for ‘consistency’
UConn’s Tyrese Martin looks improve on strong start
Dan Hurley and Tyrese Martin got a visit from an old friend and “family” member at practice about a month ago.
David Cox, the head coach at Rhode Island who was Hurley’s assistant for four seasons with the Rams, drove up from Kingston, Rhode Island, to Storrs to watch a UConn practice. Cox, who took over at Rhody after Hurley left for UConn in 2018, coached Martin for two seasons at URI before Martin transferred to UConn last season. The two still check in on each other often, reaching out on special holidays, birthdays, even Father’s Day.
“Once you’re part of this Rams family,” Cox noted, “you’ll always be in my heart. Specifically Tyrese, a wonderful kid. He’s moved on, and I wish him all the best.”
Indeed, Martin is now a member of a new extended family. And he is an integral member.
The 6-foot-6 senior wing had a strong first season at UConn last winter, leading the Huskies in rebounding (7.5 per game) and finishing third in scoring (10.8 ppg) behind only James Bouknight, who’s now a Charlotte Hornet, and R.J. Cole. His numbers were similar to what he put up as a sophomore at URI (12.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg), only playing in a much more competitive conference.
Still, those numbers could have been better.
Over the final eight games of the season, Martin shot just 33 percent (20-for-60) from the field. His nadir came, perhaps not coincidentally, in the Huskies’ season-ending NCAA Tournament firstround loss to Maryland. Martin was a mere 1-for-10 from the floor in that 63-54 loss.
“Up until that late-season swoon and shooting struggles, Tyrese was having a great year for us — at least from a statistical standpoint,” Hurley said. “We need that consistency from Tyrese all the way through the year.”
Hurley not only needs that consistent production — he’s practically demanding it.
“He had a really good summer, he’s having a really good preseason,” the fourth-year Huskies coach added. “We need him to be that third scorer, potentially that all-conference-level player. We feel like we have three or four guys that could play at an all-conference level this year, and he’s certainly one of them.”
Martin, who along with Cole was named to the preseason All-Big East second team, accepts the challenge.
“I’m looking for that, honestly,” he said. “I feel like scoring can come from anybody on the team. That’s how talented and deep we are. So every day I’m going to go out there and do what I do best, which is being tough, re