Kevin Martin Declares for NBA Draft

[AlejandroSosa]

March 17, 2004
CULLOWHEE, N.C. (AP) -- Western Carolina junior guard Kevin Martin submitted his name for the NBA draft Wednesday.

Martin, who finished the season ranked second in the nation in scoring after averaging 24.9 points a game, will not sign with an agent and keep his option open of returning for his senior season.

``I feel that this is the right time for me to seize this opportunity,'' Martin said.

Martin ranks fourth on Western Carolina's all-time scoring list with 1,838 career points.

His big moments this season were a 44-point performance in a loss to Georgia and 33 points in a win over Arkansas.

Those games were apparently enough to convince Martin to see where he stacks up in summer tryouts with NBA teams.

``Kevin has always had a dream to play in the NBA and it is his decision at this time to test those waters,'' Western Carolina coach Steve Shurina said. ``It is too early to tell if his timing is right and we are keeping the door wide open for his return. I have always said that Kevin Martin will be an NBA pick.

``The question is, will the NBA be ready for Kevin at this time?''

[rkmsuf]

Never heard of him...

[Groundhog]

I've heard of him vaguely (namely the 44-point performance). *shrug* sounds like a second rounder to me.

[Alf]

An article talking about a basket-ball prospect not mentionning is size : something missing here.

Also, if he is a guard, how reliable is he from the 3pt line ?

[AlejandroSosa]

I've seen him play, and he's pretty good.. I'll try to fill in the blanks here. He is listed at 6'7" and 185 pounds. This year, he shot 47.4% on FGs, 33.6% on 3FGs, and 81.7% on FTs. So he has the size and the shooting ability, he won't have the exposure from the NCAA tournament though, as his team finished at 13-15. Still, with a good pre-draft workout, I could see him maybe going late first round.. who knows though.

[HornedFrog Purple]

I had to read this again as I thought it said Kelvin Martin.