ASU guard Martin to enter transfer portal
Remy Martin’s career at Arizona State is officially over — even if he opts out of the NBA draft and returns to college.
Remy’s father Sam Martin said his son is focusing on the NBA draft but put his name in the transfer portal just so there would be another option in case he decides to return to college.
Unlike drafts in other major sports, the NBA draft is only two rounds.
“The feedback has been good, not great,” said Sam Martin, who added that if his son were to play another year in college it would not be in Tempe. “So now we’re trying to navigate through all this and we need to give ourselves all the options we can.”
He told ASU coach Bobby Hurley at the end of the season his son was fully into pursing the NBA and had no interest in returning to college. Hurley went out and recruited like Martin was not coming back, eventually landing three Division I transfers, all of whom were the leading scorer at their respective schools.
Those recruits were brought in thinking there was a void of 19.1 points per game to fill.
Then Remy and teammate Kimani Lawrence put out a video on social media teasing a return to ASU, which Lawrence eventually opted to in fact do. After that surfaced, Hurley called Martin to see if that indeed was going to be a possibility and he would “stop recruiting” if that were an option. He was told no, Martin was sticking to his original plan.
The NBA draft combine is slated for June 21-27. Whether or not Martin gets invited to that should serve as an indication of his draft potential. The withdrawal date for players wanting to return to college is July 19.
When Martin declared last season he waited until the last minute to withdraw. Waiting for Martin to decide this season officially would have likely hurt Hurley’s effort in bringing in quality replacements.
“I love what Bobby has done with this team. They’re going to be good next year,” Sam Martin said. “He had to do what he needed to do.”
Martin said his son spoke with Hurley before entering the transfer portal.
Remy had a stellar four-year career and just graduated with his degree in sociology. Four days ago he put out a message on social media thanking his followers and the team at ASU while saying he is focusing on the NBA draft.
Martin could have returned for a fifth season at ASU. Due to the circumstances presented by the coronavirus
pandemic, the NCAA granted seniors another year of eligibility. Martin originally declared for the draft after his junior year, only to withdraw and return. The recruitment of high profile freshmen in Bagley and Josh Christopher had ASU on the national radar, with Martin landing preseason All-American honors.
Martin’s resume appears impressive enough he wouldn’t need another season to increase his stock. Not only did Martin lead the Pac-12 in scoring (19.1 ppg), he had a season best of 31 points in a win over Grand Canyon that was highlighted by a game-winning 3pointer at the buzzer. He had a leaguebest 10 20-point games in 17 Pac-12 games this season.
Martin was named first-team AllPac 12 for the second time. He was a second-team pick in 2018-19 as a sophomore the league’s co-Sixth Man of the Year in his freshman season (2017-18). He was just the second Sun Devil to earn All-Pac-12 honors three times, joining Ike Diogu (2003-05).
The Southern California native was also named to the five-member Associated Press Pac-12 first team voted on by the media.
On the ASU career lists Martin ranks sixth in points (1,754), second in assists (466), 10th in field goals (591), third in free throws made (396), tied for tenth in 3-pointers made (176), ninth in three-pointers attempted (524) and eighth in steals (151).
Martin was also named the winner of ASU’s Kajikawa Male Athlete of the Year which goes annually to the top athlete from any sport based on athletics, academics, leadership and community service.