ASU’s Martin spent 3 months refining game
When Arizona State point guard Remy Martin reported to work at Impact Basketball in Las Vegas in late April, the plan that awaited him did not include the explicit goal of preparing him for the NBA, even though Martin had declared for the draft just a few weeks prior.
The goal was simply to become a better basketball player.
“It was irrelevant whether he went back to school and went to the draft,” said Joe Abunassar, Impact’s founder and president.
Last Sunday morning, Martin called his father to say he decided to return to ASU for his senior year. Less than two hours later, the Sun Devils announced
the decision via social media, leaving their fans rejoicing and giving thanks.
With Martin back, ASU’s has its most talented team in decades. The Sun Devils will be ranked in the pre-season top 25 for only the second time in the last 29 years. A favorite to win the school’s first Pac-12 title. A team that could go deep in the NCAA tournament.
Martin has not been available for comment since making the decision, but Abunassar and Martin’s father, Sam, described part of the process Remy went through the last few months.
NBA teams couldn’t bring players in for workouts, so Martin’s interaction with them was limited to Zoom calls. Utah, Dallas, and Cleveland were among them, said Sam Martin, and assessments of what Martin needed to improve upon were generally the same.
Improve your shooting, especially from 3-point range. Prove you can run a team. We know you can score, but can you help teammates score? And win.
Those evaluations aligned with what Abunassar had planned for Martin.
“The real goals were to get stronger, get him shooting the ball a lot more consistently from deeper range, getting his shot off quicker,” Abunassar said. “The biggest word for Remy was ‘efficiency.’ Showing teams he can run a team, not only score the bucket but make the right play.”
A normal year would have given Martin the opportunity to do that in workouts with NBA teams and a summer league. That didn’t happen, and Martin, who likely would not have been drafted, had no chance to impress scouts.
“Remy’s a dangerous guy,” Abunassar said. “I think it’s fortunate for Arizona State the draft process is what it is this year because I think if Remy had got into some workouts and summer league, his decision might have been different, although it’s great he’s going back.”
Improving efficiency
When he was around 10, Martin was on a club team coached by Abunassar. So, they know each other well.
When it comes to basketball, Martin was born without gears. He’s fast and he’s fast all the time. This spring and summer, Abunassar emphasized to Martin the need to be able to use his speed more judiciously.
But can that skill be taught?
“If they’re fast enough, yes,” Abunassar
said. “It’s hard to teach a slow guy to go faster, but it’s easier to teach a fast guy to slow down.”
They worked on reading pick and rolls, shooting floaters in the lane rather than forcing contact with bigger people, taking two dribbles instead of four.
Martin led the Pac-12 in scoring last year, and nobody in the country hit more big shots in leading their team to wins.
But his jump shot is flat, and he shot 33.5% from three-point range last year.
Abunassar doesn’t like to makeover a player’s shooting form, but they did tinker with Martin’s. They worked on his footwork and releasing the ball quicker. Martin was constantly reminded to help him increase the trajectory of the ball.
“Totally a big focus was getting the ball up in the air,” Abunassar said. “I think we made some good progress that he can continue.”
In his three years at ASU, Martin has shown he can provide whatever the Sun Devils need. As a freshman, he was the conference’s sixth man of the year. As a sophomore, he led the conference with an average of 6.2 assists a game. And last year, he was the league’s top scorer.
The Hurley factor
Martin came to ASU to play for Bobby Hurley. And he would not have returned for his senior year if Hurley wasn’t the coach, said Sam Martin.
“He has a great relationship with coach and loves coach,” Sam Martin said.
And Hurley and Sun Devil fans love him right back. ASU has never had a more popular basketball player.
ASU fans are thankful for Martin’s return and likely are asking for one more thing in their prayers. Please, Lord, let there be a college basketball season.