KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. — Three straight possessions the ball went to Hassan Martin just outside the paint, by the baseline, and each time he delivered. Dunk, layup and foul followed by two free throws, the Curtis forward driving past his man baseline on each occasion like the defender wasn’t there.
It wasn’t enough to send New Heights into the Summer Classic East semifinals — Mass Rivals held on for a 49-45 victory — but the rising senior’s performance kept the city team close when seemingly everything else went awry.
“I was more focused [than I was in the first half],” he said of his second half explosion, when he scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in front of a series of series of interested college coaches, such as Fordham’s Tom Pecora, Providence’s Ed Cooley and Rhode Island assistant Jimmy Carr. “I had a lot of energy. Jalen [Jenkins] was in foul trouble and I had to step up.”
Martin recently picked up a St. Joseph’s offer, to go along with existing ones from Providence, Iowa State, Fordham, Rhode Island, Kansas State and Duquesne, among others. He’s no longer considering Creighton after the Blue Jays landed a forward this week.
As of now, Fordham, Rhode Island, Providence and Iowa State are in the lead, a source close to Martin said. Fordham was Martin’s first offer, before he missed most of his junior season with a torn finger tendon. Providence has come on strong of late with Cooley attending each game this week at Summer Classic East. Iowa State has a former NBA player in Fred Hoiberg as it coach, an assistant in Matt Abdelmassih known for landing top city talent and it began recruiting Martin early in the process.
The Staten Island star has already visited Rhode Island, developed a strong bond with Carr and has seen firsthand how quickly Dan Hurley can build a program, seeing what he did for Wagner. He will cut his list shortly after the July live recruiting period and take visits.
“If he develops a shot, he can be scary good,” one Division I coach recruiting Martin previously said. “His ability to handle the ball and his versatility makes him intriguing. His length as a rebounder will make him pretty special. He’s a high major kid.”
From blown calls to missed free throws and layups, shorthanded New Heights wasn’t quite itself. The absence of bruising Pathways forward Jordan Washington and Christ the King point guard Malik Harmon sure didn’t help, and neither did guards Josh James, Tyler Wilson and Nassir Williams struggling from the perimeter.
The meeting was eerily similar to the last matchup, in the Memorial Day Super 16 Showcase championship game, when New Heights won at the buzzer on a Jenkins basket.
Neither team could find much of a rhythm offensively as New Heights held Mass Rivals star Noah Vonleh, one of the top rising juniors in the country, to two points, Martin and Jenkins hounding him at every touch.
“They were ready for that challenge,” New Heights coach Jerel Cokley said. He later added: “To hold a team like Mass Rivals to 23 points in the first half and 49 points for the entire game is a great job defensively. We’re two similar teams going head to head.”
New Heights never went away, following Martin’s lead. They could just never get over the hump after falling behind by seven points early in the second half. New Heights got as close as one, but never could get ahead.
“They made the shots when it mattered most and we missed free throws and layups,” Cokley said.