Martin evolves with changing role
Lobos host UNLV as current point guard finding his shot
ALBUQUERQUE — With all due respect, give this job to someone else.
While Zane Martin will stop short of actually saying those words to the people in charge, he is the first to admit that his ever-evolving role with the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team has been a lot harder than simply showing up and trying something different.
A shooting guard by trade, he is a natural-born scorer whose sole purpose for being on the court is to make things happen and put the ball in the hole. He has crafted a solid college career doing just that, first in two years at Towson and now as a redshirt junior with the Lobos.
Thing is, he’s not necessarily the same player he was when he averaged nearly 20 points a game his sophomore year at Towson. With all the injuries, defections and suspensions UNM has had this season, the presumed shooting guard who was expected to provide instant offense off the bench has become the starter at point guard.
“Always been a scorer, so this is something different,” Martin said. “But I’m a team guy. If they want me at the point, I’ll be the point. I just want the team to win.”
The Lobos, who host UNLV on Saturday afternoon in what amounts to a critical two-game homestand as the regular season winds down, started the season with at least four viable candidates to be the point guard. One player (sophomore Drue Drinnon) quit the team and
another (junior JJ Caldwell) was suspended indefinitely Dec. 22 and hasn’t played since.
Another, senior JaQuan Lyle, missed two games due to an injury and then two more to a suspension. The other, junior Keith McGee, has proven himself to be a more effective off-ball guard who can hit the occasional 3-pointer and spearhead the transition game with his speed.
That leaves Martin, a muscular 6-foot-4 junior from Philadelphia. In the 13 games Caldwell was with the team, Martin never started and didn’t get more than 23 minutes in any outing. Since Caldwell’s suspension, he has started every game and averaged 29 minutes per contest, spending much of that time at the point in place of Caldwell.
The numbers are reflected in Martin’s production. He was averaging 8.3 points before Caldwell’s exit and 14.5 in the 13 games since.
“There’s been a lot of changes for everyone on this team this year, for him specifically,” UNM head coach Paul Weir said. “He seems to be the epitome of that on the other side; a kid who went from this role to that role, this position to that one, these minutes to those minutes. When everyone kind of looks at the affected individuals, he’s kind of the back side of that.”
Whereas Caldwell was a true facilitator hailed as the best pure passer on the team, Martin’s bulky frame and attacking mentality make him perfectly suited for a guard who can beat opponents off the dribble and drive headlong into the paint while absorbing contact. He admits it’s taking some getting used to with the whole dribble-pass-floor general mentality a point guard requires.
“I took it upon myself to lead,” Martin said. “I feel like coaches depend on me, you know, as the point guard to lead the team in the right direction. I’m also seasoned as a transfer, so I feel like I pretty much I’ve seen a lot of stuff that I can kind of help my teammates with.”
The return of Lyle two games ago means Martin no longer has to shoulder the load at the point. That said, he has staked his claim to being one of the most valuable players on the team by simply riding out the storm that has been the 2019-20 Lobo basketball season.
“Guys like Zane. Him being there and doing what this team needs has been huge for us,” Lyle said. “Guys come in here expecting to do one thing and sometimes those roles change, and he’s had to change a lot. Done a good job with it, too.”
LOBOS NOTES
Gut check time: The Lobos can move into a tie with UNLV for sixth place with a win Saturday. The Runnin’ Rebels (12-14, 7-6) are reeling, having lost five of their last six games. Their lone win in that stretch was a one-point decision at home over Fresno State.
The top five teams in the final Mountain West standings get a first-round bye in the conference tournament, making this two-game homestand for the Lobos (17-9, 6-7) vitally important. UNM closes the regular season with UNLV and
Nevada at home, on the road at Boise State and Air Force, then home against Utah State. Four of those five teams are ahead of them in the standings.
Rough outing: UNM’s baseball team got off to a nightmarish start in its season opener Friday afternoon in Phoenix. The Lobos gave up nine runs in the first inning to No. 25 Oregon State, settling for an 11-4 loss in the opening round of the College Baseball Classic.
UNM faces BYU in a doubleheader Saturday, then closes the weekend Sunday against Gonzaga.
Final Four reunion: The New Mexico State men’s basketball team is honoring its 1969-70 Final Four team at halftime of Saturday’s home game against Utah Valley in the Pan American Center. All nine living members of the team will be joined by Rob Evans, an assistant coach to Lou Henson that season.
The Aggies (20-6 overall, 11-0 in the WAC) are riding the fourth-longest active winning streak in the country, having won 14 straight dating to a December loss to the Lobos in The Pit. It’s the fifth-longest winning streak in school history.
It also marks the ninth straight season they’ve won at least 20 games.