First in a series profiling the top players in the 2000 NBA Draft.
Kenyon Martin said he has only once watched the play that prematurely ended his senior season at Cincinnati and almost destroyed his dream of an NBA career.
“I just wanted to see what happened,” he said.
What happened on March 9 was a freak play, a play that Cincinnati had run countless times in Martin’s four-ear career. As he set himself for a baseline pick, Martin got tangled up with St. Louis’ Justin Love. Martin’s right leg collapsed under him, fracturing his fibula and tearing ligaments in his ankle.
As he lay on court in The Pyramid in Memphis, where the Conference USA Tournament was being held, Martin knew before trainer Jayd Grossman reached him that, “something was broke.”
What wasn’t broken, however, was the overwhelming consensus that Martin, the Wooden Award winner, had been the nation’s best college basketball player. Nor has the injury, which Martin is working vigorously to rehab, damaged his chances of being the top pick in the June 28th NBA Draft.
“Without a doubt, to me, he’s the No. 1 pick,” said Dick McGuire, director of scouting services for the Knicks. “I don’t know the status of his leg but I’m sure the teams with the top picks will check him out carefully. As long as there are no problems, I think he’s earned the right to be the first pick. He stayed in school all four years and he’s gotten better every year.”
The team with the first pick, of course, is the Nets. Although the 6-foot-8 3/4 , 230-pound Martin played center and power forward in college, he sees himself as a small forward in the NBA.
The combination of a stronger Keith Van Horn at the power forward and the athletic, shot-blocking Martin at small forward has to be intriguing to the Nets, who last year were softer in the paint than the midsection of the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Martin certainly would provide some much-needed toughness and rebounding.
Of course, the Nets aren’t about to tip their hand. LSU’s Stromile Swift is an intriguing talent with the potential for a great upside, especially on offense. Chris Mihm of Texas is the most polished center, a position the Nets must think of filling considering the injury status of Jayson Williams.
Martin said he has no qualms about coming to the Nets and several GM’s around the country think Martin and the Nets would be perfect together. Martin showed phenomenal improvement in his offensive game, developing a mid-range jumper and raising his scoring average from 10.1 to 18.9 points his senior season.
“The Nets are not a bad team at all,” said one GM. “They’ve got some talent, starting with Stephon [Marbury]. He’ll get the ball to people. But whoever comes in there won’t have the pressure of having to be the guy. With Stephon, you need a big guy who can get up and down the floor and finish. Kenyon can do that. He’d actually be getting to a pretty good situation, much like Tim Duncan when he went to the Spurs.”
Martin, who’s been training in California, has been unable to work out for teams because of the injury but he said he’s on schedule to be ready to play by the start of training camp. He spends countless hours in the pool, strength the right leg and working on flexing the ankle.
He has moved past the frustration of the injury, the anguishing days when all he could do was watch the Bearcats get eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Tulsa. Now at least he has a goal, a direction, and way to channel the frustration of not being able to play.
“When I first got hurt, I couldn’t even sleep,” said Martin. “I was used to playing three hours every day. Then suddenly I couldn’t do anything. I had all this energy. Now I’m cool.”
Martin also is cool with his decision to return to Cincinnati for his senior season. He could have been a first-round draft choice last season but knew his offensive game needed work.
Some would like to make Martin people’s Exhibit A for why a player should leave early. After all, had he left school early, he’d already be in the NBA and that freak play on March 9 would never have happened.
“I have no regrets,” said Martin. “I’m a better player now than I was then. Maybe there is a team out there that is worried about my leg but I know how hard I’m working. I’m working harder than the doctors are telling me. That’s the kind of person I am. And that’s the kind of player I am.”
Next: Marcus Fizer