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Matt Martin is another key

M

mtgrizrule

Well-known member
Amazing, how in a few weeks the wolves have gone away from Hasquet, now they are preying on Martin. Well since Hasquet's stinker against utah valley st, he is proving me right of how valuable he can be as a rebounder and 2nd scorer. Before I move onto Matt, "Thanks Jordan for not letting me down, keep it up."

Now onto Martin, recently he has been the player being criticized. Rightfully or wrongfully depending on your individual outlook. IMHO, Matt will find his consistency again. It looks to me he is beginning to find it. Martin is the player best suited to be the emotional leader. He is a jr, former qb, and pg with many natural leadership qualities.

He also sets the tone at practices by always busting his ass. Anyone that has not seen him and Ellis go at it, you are missing out. My guess is, Matt has been on a rollercoaster the past year. Matt was prominent scorer in High School, with all the confidence in the world. He has since been challenged to change his game from scoring guard to a pg that scores when needed. That is not an easy transition and takes time. Matt has worked very hard to be a team player and never complaining about his role or playing time. He wants to average 5 to 6 assists per game, and his turnover to assist ratio is improving.

As for those calling Martin a ball hog and a gunner, I do not see that. The shots he has missed were not "bad" or "forced" shots. The majority of his shots are well within the concept of the offense. When he does miss he does not miss by far. My point is he is not far off.

Everytime Matt steps on the floor he brings intensity. He is not afraid of taking tough shots with a game on the line. He is a competitor. I guarantee he is frustrated when he goes into a slump. Chriswell was the same way until his SR year, when he learned to be effective in other ways when his shot was not there. Dloughy has learned that too. I will not be surpised if Matt starts to drive more to set up teammates or draw fouls. This too is a transition he will learn with time, being he has always been able to rely on his outside shot. Matt is a better ballhandler, quicker, and better athlete than Chriswell. Kevin learned this in time and did well, so will Matt.

I have faith in Matt as a player and person. By midseason he will be very productive, and step up as the emotional leader of this team. I am not giving up on him, but encouraging him to just keep hanging in there and good things will happen. I think he has been pressing too much. Griznation will be applauding Matt by year's end and looking forward to his SR year.

I hope collectively we as fans can give Matt some extra encouragement and know he is appreciated. Same applies to all the player's. Matt, or other teammates, if you are reading this, keep in mind there are many here that believe and support you. :thumb:

BTW, I encourage everyone to take a minute or two to get to know this kid. He is a great person with a good upbringing. He is also very kind to the kids that look up to him, and stays out of trouble.
Thanks Matt!
 
mtgrizrule said:
Amazing, how in a few weeks the wolves have gone away from Hasquet, now they are preying on Martin. Well since Hasquet's stinker against utah valley st, he is proving me right of how valuable he can be as a rebounder and 2nd scorer. Before I move onto Matt, "Thanks Jordan for not letting me down, keep it up."

Now onto Martin, recently he has been the player being criticized. Rightfully or wrongfully depending on your individual outlook. IMHO, Matt will find his consistency again. It looks to me he is beginning to find it. Martin is the player best suited to be the emotional leader. He is a jr, former qb, and pg with many natural leadership qualities.

He also sets the tone at practices by always busting his ass. Anyone that has not seen him and Ellis go at it, you are missing out. My guess is, Matt has been on a rollercoaster the past year. Matt was prominent scorer in High School, with all the confidence in the world. He has since been challenged to change his game from scoring guard to a pg that scores when needed. That is not an easy transition and takes time. Matt has worked very hard to be a team player and never complaining about his role or playing time. He wants to average 5 to 6 assists per game, and his turnover to assist ratio is improving.

As for those calling Martin a ball hog and a gunner, I do not see that. The shots he has missed were not "bad" or "forced" shots. The majority of his shots are well within the concept of the offense. When he does miss he does not miss by far. My point is he is not far off.

Everytime Matt steps on the floor he brings intensity. He is not afraid of taking tough shots with a game on the line. He is a competitor. I guarantee he is frustrated when he goes into a slump. Chriswell was the same way until his SR year, when he learned to be effective in other ways when his shot was not there. Dloughy has learned that too. I will not be surpised if Matt starts to drive more to set up teammates or draw fouls. This too is a transition he will learn with time, being he has always been able to rely on his outside shot. Matt is a better ballhandler, quicker, and better athlete than Chriswell. Kevin learned this in time and did well, so will Matt.

I have faith in Matt as a player and person. By midseason he will be very productive, and step up as the emotional leader of this team. I am not giving up on him, but encouraging him to just keep hanging in there and good things will happen. I think he has been pressing too much. Griznation will be applauding Matt by year's end and looking forward to his SR year.

I hope collectively we as fans can give Matt some extra encouragement and know he is appreciated. Same applies to all the player's. Matt, or other teammates, if you are reading this, keep in mind there are many here that believe and support you. :thumb:

BTW, I encourage everyone to take a minute or two to get to know this kid. He is a great person with a good upbringing. He is also very kind to the kids that look up to him, and stays out of trouble.
Thanks Matt!
Click to expand...
:clap:
 
Good post.

Everybody keeps saying that this team needs to establish its own identity and have a leader emerge.

I think Matt is the best candidate to lead this team. He is always full of energy and carries an addictive swagger on the court. I think the way he handled Larry's head games last year was amazing - maybe it made him a better leader, only time will tell. It certainly didn't do anything to help free up his stroke.
 
griz17 said:
Good post.

Everybody keeps saying that this team needs to establish its own identity and have a leader emerge.

I think Matt is the best candidate to lead this team. He is always full of energy and carries an addictive swagger on the court. I think the way he handled Larry's head games last year was amazing - maybe it made him a better leader, only time will tell. It certainly didn't do anything to help free up his stroke.
Click to expand...

Well said, not sure if Larry intended for it to be a head game. As a player though, I can see how it could turn into one. Also, I will add now he at times he is expected to score then turnaround and distribute. It is like la light switch, but instead of off/on the switch is pg/sg, or scorer/passer.

That has to be hard for any player. Some can do it, other's it takes time. Putting a player in that situation says alot about a player's character and willingness. My advice to Matt, "Just play your game, do what you do best. The rest will fall into place." Regardless of stats, be vocal and lead by example, IMHO Matt is the most capable of doing that. Also I think developing Rundles at PG makes sense. It helps Matt by allowing him to focus on being more of scorer, and Rundles gets needed experience at PG. He is a future all BSC all conference there.

Good luck the next few games, I cannot wait for series of home games. May the fans set the tone for the player's by being rowdy and supportive from the get go. Lets turn Dahlberg into "THE ZOO" again. GO GRIZ
 
Martin is a nice guy who works hard. If you recall he didn't play
a whole lot under Larry. Matt is not a D1 pt. guard; he is a human
turnover. his niche is coming off the bench and hitting a couple
3's if its his night. I would play cameron at the other wing; Ellis
is far and away the best point.
 
great post grizrule. One thing that most people don't understand is that matt was recruited as a scorer, most notably a three point shooting scorer. This has been a big transition, and I believe if he would get 10 good looks a game he would turn a lot of heads with his shooting, he can miss 4 in a row but if he makes one it could be lights out. I like him matched at the 2 guard with ellis at the point.
 
sdgriz1 said:
great post grizrule. One thing that most people don't understand is that matt was recruited as a scorer, most notably a three point shooting scorer. This has been a big transition, and I believe if he would get 10 good looks a game he would turn a lot of heads with his shooting, he can miss 4 in a row but if he makes one it could be lights out. I like him matched at the 2 guard with ellis at the point.
Click to expand...

I could not agree more :thumb:
I would love to see Matt being able to do what he does best, Shoot. For those games he is off, just go to hole, dish or draw fouls. Matt is quicker with better ballhandling skills than Criswell, which did well last year taking it to the hole. I think Matt has more skills we have yet to see. I will not be surprised to see a complete offensive game from Matt by year's end.

Also to add, he has given us a good following from SD, ND, and MN. He and Rundles can be huge in terms of midwest recruiting ties.
 
Ballhog said:
Martin is a nice guy who works hard. If you recall he didn't play
a whole lot under Larry. Matt is not a D1 pt. guard; he is a human
turnover. his niche is coming off the bench and hitting a couple
3's if its his night. I would play cameron at the other wing; Ellis
is far and away the best point.
Click to expand...

"If you recall" he started 26 games for Larry in 2004-2005 as a true freshman! He saved Larry's bacon that year when it became very clear early in the season that Lynch wasn't going to be able to handle the point. He WAS the difference when we weaseled in and won the BSC tourney. He had a 104 assists, and he was a leader on that team just a few months after leaving high school.

Turnovers go hand-in-hand with points guards, so unless that number gets really excessive, I don't pay any attention to it.

From what I've seen out of all these guards, I think Matt should be the main man and the others should rotate around him. There are several good combinations there, but Matt has to be on the floor the most - he's a natural leader. If Matt is not a "D1 pt. guard" (whatever that is these days), we don't have one. :twocents:
 
You seem to be forgetting the most important emphasis on this years team---- defense first. Tinks has made that clear. Both Matt M and Brian Ellis are small and must defend taller and sometimes(at least to this date) quicker guards.
 
i would hope they would be bigger since the were in the Big East, ACC, and Big 10 respectively...we are fine, everyone will be shocked when we start playing in the BSC.
 
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