Matt Martin Signs in Europe

[PlayerRep]

Matt Martin has signed with a team in the British Basketball League, the top professional league in the UK.

Martin apparently played very well in some camps this summer, and caught the attention of the Riders and other teams. It was his offensive mindset from point guard that caught the Riders' attention. European ball is much more wide open than most US college ball. I've talked to a number of US players over the years who said they played better in Europe than in college, because the game was more wide open and they didn't have to deal with half court and more disciplined offenses. There is some indication that Martin will be an important focal part of the offense.

He'll play with the Leicester Riders. Leicester is a city of about 400,000, about a 45 minute train ride from London. Besides a salary and bonus potential, he will have a house, car, meals, promo opportunities and an AAU-type coaching job.

Sounds like a great opportunity for him. He may thrive over there. After scoring almost 25 points per game in high school, he had to modify his game at UM to fit the styles and offenses of LK and WT. Recall that he was recruited by Kennedy. While he was a good player for UM, I think he would have been better in a different offense.

Congrats to Matt. Great kid. Great opportunity. Here's a link to his team's press release.

http://www.ridersbasketball.com/1news/news.html#080723

 

[Hells bells]

always good news when a um or msu kids gets a contract to play professionally...i wish him the best of luck :thumb:

 

[BWahlberg]

MISSOULA, MONTANA (7/23/08) - Matt Martin, a four-year basketball letterman at The University of Montana, has signed a contract to play professional basketball for the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders of the British Basketball League, the team announced today.
The 12-team BBL is the elite league in England. The Riders are located in Leicester, a city of about 400,000, which is a 45-minute train ride northwest of London. The season runs from September through April or May, depending if his team makes the playoffs.
"Matt is a multi-talented guard who over his four-year career at Montana was able to excel at both guard positions," said Riders' head coach Rob Paternostro in a team press release. "I think he has the type of game our fans will really enjoy watching. Montana is a solid Division
I team, and he helped them reach the NCAA tournament twice. Everyone I
spoke with had great things to say about his competitive nature, so I think he'll be a great fit for us. I'm looking forward to working with Matt both on and off the floor."
"I am very excited to have this opportunity to play professional basketball in the "BBL," the top league in England," said Martin via email today. "I believe this team's style will be a great fit for me.
I really enjoyed speaking with my new coach and general manager over the phone. I am excited for the future and can't wait to get started. I want to tell everyone thanks in Griz country for all the support my last four years. I will miss Montana and will be following the Griz closely."
Martin, 23, is a recent graduate of Montana. He played for the Grizzlies from 2004-08. He finished his career ranked 23rd in school history with 1,021 career points, while his 214 career three-pointers are the second most at UM and rank him seventh in the Big Sky Conference. He is 10th in school history with 317 career assists and played in 122 career games. He was ranked among the Big Sky's top three-point shooters and assists leaders all four of his seasons at Montana.
As a senior Martin was UM's third leading scorer at 10.9 points a game and served as one of the Grizzlies' team captains. His junior season he was the team's fifth leading scorer and one of four players who played in all 32 games. His sophomore year he saw action in 31 games and he scored 11 points in a 69-56 second-round NCAA tournament loss to Boston College. His freshman year he started in 26 games and scored 15 points in an 88-77 loss to Washington in the NCAA Tournament first round game.
Martin leaves for England on Sept. 3.

 

[EverettGriz]

Way to go, Matt.

 

[mcg]

So how much money might one earn playing in the BBL?

 

[IntuitiveGriz]

I enjoyed watching his 1 on 1 with Griz atheltes videos that are on montanagrizzlies.com. Griz and Lady Griz competed in matchups of P-I-G.

Martin ended up in the championship round against Hasquet. It was close but Hasquet won. The games were light-hearted (though you could see some competitivness) and funny at times.

 

[grizatwork]

I was driving from Kansas City back to Montana over the weekend. I stopped for gas somewhere in the middle of South Dakota. The guy behind the counter noticed my Grizzly shirt and told me a guy he knew in high school in Spearfish played there. I guess they followed his career pretty closely there.

Good luck in the land of fish and chips.

 

[RimRocker]

Congratulations Matt! The last news that I had read about you before this was that you were voted the most inspirational by your teammates last spring. You need to know that you have been very inspirational to many of us in Griz Nation. You have a knack for turning a road block into a speed bump, which are skills that will take you far in life. Wishing you the best of luck in England and unlimited success in all future endeavors! :thumb: