HARTFORD, Conn. — When Tyrese Martin went to a grassroots tryout in high school, coach James Johns almost cut him.
An introvert, Martin was so quiet, Johns said he didn’t even know he was there at times. Martin’s high school coach pleaded that he would be good, and Johns went to see him at a summer event to do due diligence before making the final decision.
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“He absolutely was unbelievable,” said Johns, who coached Martin with the We-R1 AAU team that won back-to-back national championships and has since become a mentor to the athlete. “We had no idea and he just shocked everybody. I called everybody in the program and said, ‘Found the one, and he’s going to be a star.’ ”
Years later, Martin is making another move in his basketball journey: He announced on Tuesday he will transfer to UConn after two years at Rhode Island. The 6-6, 205-pound guard chose the Huskies over Georgia, Ole Miss, Oregon and Seton Hall. He’s fulfilling a dream he’s had since he watched Kemba Walker and UConn in years past.
“I wanted to play at a bigger stage,” Martin said. “UConn going to the Big East: That was always the conference I wanted to play in as a kid and enjoyed watching growing up. It’s a great program. With (Dan) Hurley being there, it was just hard to turn down.”
Martin first committed to Rhode Island while Hurley was the coach there. But Martin never played under Hurley, who took the UConn job in the spring of 2018. David Cox, Hurley’s assistant at Rhode Island who was elevated to the head job, said in a statement when Martin committed that “Coach Hurley and I both watched him during his junior year and really liked him. We both made our presence felt very strong for Tyrese. … We spent a lot of time over the summer trailing Tyrese around the country, and it paid dividends. We ended up beating out Seton Hall for his services, and we are extremely excited about him.”
Hurley’s personality stuck with Martin, and it remained a big draw. He said it was nice to see he still has the same style of coaching he displayed at Rhode Island.
“Just the passion he brings day in and day out,” Martin said. “The way he brings energy to his players and to the game, that’s just something I want to play for and be around.”
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This season Martin averaged 12.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, starting in all 30 contests. Over two seasons he shot 42.7 percent from the floor and 31.7 percent from 3. He said he wants to work on his 3-point shooting, his assist-to-turnover ratio and ball screens.
“I think Tyrese is a Swiss Army knife,” Johns said. “He can do everything. He rebounds the ball at a high level for a guard, he can shoot it. He passes the ball well; just talented. He’s athletic so I think whatever role Coach Hurley needs him to play, he’ll play it.”
Martin is expected to sit out the 2020-21 season and then have two years of remaining eligibility. Hurley had two scholarships to offer after Alterique Gilbert and Sidney Wilson decided to transfer.
On the off chance Martin can play next season, with a waiver, UConn will have three skilled wings with Martin, sophomore James Bouknight and freshman Andre Jackson. With Wilson’s departure, the Huskies are still down a big man, which most likely will impact Hurley’s final scholarship decision. Akok Akok’s timeline is unknown as he recovers from a ruptured Achilles. But Hurley expects Tyler Polley to be ready for the start of next season after his ACL tear.
In Martin, UConn is getting a “no-nonsense” and motivated player, Johns said. When the pandemic shut things down, Martin went home to Allentown, Pa., and has been working full-time at a warehouse. He works from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., come home and finish schoolwork online and then work out. Martin said his mother was laid off due to the virus, and he decided if he was going to be at home, he’d take a job to help her and three younger sisters.
“I believe he plays with a chip on his shoulder and he knows that every day is a blessing to be able to continue to play and how important this opportunity is for him and his family,” Johns said. “I think he’s a kid that was a little under the radar in high school and he took it personally. He always wants to prove that he belongs. More than anything, Tyrese plays for his family.”
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The kid with the quiet personality has transformed into a player who is looking for another challenge at UConn. As he has come out of his shell in college, Martin said even Hurley noted the difference in their phone conversations they had two years apart.
“He’s never going to be the loudest,” Johns said. “He doesn’t seek out attention, any of that type of stuff. That’s who he is. When he steps in between the lines, he becomes a different person.”
(Photo of Tyrese Martin: Mitchell Layton / Getty Images)
