Career Coaching Legacy of Logan Martinez (CH2K8)

[HarkTheSound]

#8 Alabama A&M (8-19)vs #1 Texas Southern (21-7)

March 11, 2009

Birmingham, Alabama - With the regular season in the books, Coach Logan Martinez and the Texas Southern Tigers shifted their focus to the postseason and the perils that the one game elimination format can bring. Just last year, one of the better season in recent Tiger history was abruptly ended in the first round of the SWAC tournament as they suffered a bitter defeat in the #3 vs #6 matchup to Arkansas Pine-Bluff.

Martinez reminded his team after their regular season finale win against Grambling that they only needed to win 3 more games to lead the Tigers' program to their first ever NCAA tournament.

Players like Lawrence Danner-Johnson, Keithtrick Denson, and Aaron Clayborn remember the sting from last season's loss, and they were looking forward to redeeming themselves this year. Despite winning the SWAC regular season title and at the very least securing an NIT bid, the Tigers' coaches, players and fanbase want more. They want to see their names flash across the screen on Selection Sunday.

The Tigers' first opponent in the 2009 SWAC Tournment was 8 seed Alabama A&M. The Bulldogs, up to this point, had underachieved all season despite boasting one of the conferences' more talented rosters that includes 3 *** freshman.

The Tigers handled the Bulldogs in their first two matchups of the season, but they were wary of their opponent and did not take them for granted heading into the game. They learned last season it is difficult to beat one opponent on 3 separate occasions. Coach Martinez and his staff did everything they could to prepare this young, but talented, Tiger team for this crucial game. Here is how it all played out...

The 3-ball was definitely the key in this win. The Tigers only shot 24-56 from the field, but they hit 13 out of 21 three-pointers. Danner-Johnson hit 5 threes and tallied 21 points. Keithtrick Denson scored 11, while star bench performer Micah Flowers hit 6 out of his 7 threes (5 in the first half) on his way to a 25-point effort in the win.

Texas Southern will play Mississippi Valley State in the 2nd round of the SWAC Tourney on Friday.

[HarkTheSound]

Despite Recent Success, Tigers Wary of Delta Devils

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Coach Logan Martinez and his Texas Southern Tigers are the odds on favorite to win the SWAC Tournament. He knows it, his players, know it and every fan who follows the conference knows it.

After an impressive 21-7 (14-4) campaign, the Tigers will face off against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils, who are a measly 11-18 (9-9). Still, Martinez realizes the danger of being the prohibitive favorite.

"I don't know why everyone is already assuming we're a lock to compete in the NCAAs. The people are so starved for that first every NCAA Tournament appearance that they're already penciling us in their brackets the moment we are the 'favorites'. I think we need too real back expectations a bit and realize two of our starters are freshmen, one's a sophomore, and our best bench player is a JUCO transfer playing in his first season. We may have looked good at times this year, but that doesn't mean a team like Mississippi Valley State can't sneak up on us and win this game. They've proved they can beat us in the past."

Indeed they have. The Delta Devils were the best team in the SWAC last season, winning both the regular season and conference championships, reaching 20 wins and earning an NCAA Tournament birth. They easily dismantled the Tigers in their two matchups last year as well.

However, a lot of the key contributors from that squad have graduated and they were left with a much younger team. The Tigers took advantage of that their two meetings this year, as they easily dispatched of the Delta Devils, including a 30-point drubbing in their most recent matchup. Still, those remaining holdovers know what it takes to defeat the Tigers, and they will do their best to ensure that their season doesn't end Friday night.

[HarkTheSound]

SWAC TOURNAMENT BRACKET - Birmingham, Alabama

Quarterfinals

1. Texas Southern - 67
8. Alabama A&M - 53

4. Alcorn State - 72
5. Mississippi Valley State - 74

3. Alabama State - 69
6. Prairie View - 72

2. Arkansas Pine-Bluff - 72
7. Jackson State - 55

Semifinals

1. Texas Southern
5. Mississippi Valley State

2. Arkansas Pine-Bluff - 62
6. Prairie View - 63

Finals

TBA
6. Prairie View

[HarkTheSound]

Mississippi Valley State (11-18)vs Texas Southern (22-7)

March 13, 2009

With Big Win, Comes a Big loss

Birmingham, Alabama - Despite earning a bid to the SWAC Championship game, the Tigers Southern Tigers' locker room was eerily quite after the game. The entire team, along with Coach Logan Martinez, were all huddled together around their young captain.

Despite only being a sophomore, Lawrence Danner-Johnson was named co-captain of the Tigers' basketball team (along with Senior Keithtrick Denson). He is the team's vocal leader, and has proven to be clutch in tight games (see: Houston this year on the road, Purdue on the road last year).

With that being the case, one can understand why there was not a single dry eye in the locker room as Danner-Johnson was fitted with a bulky black boot after breaking his ankle 4 minutes into the game Friday night. He has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

The Tigers' adrenaline after seeing their fallen comrade go down carried them to a big lead in the first half. In the second, they played the way many would expect the Tigers to play without Danner-Johnson on the floor. They squeaked out 26 measly second half pointed after scoring 45 in the first, but it was enough to hold on to the win, 71-57. The Tigers will have a chance to earn their first ever NCAA Tournament bid Sunday afternoon against Prairie View (14-18, 7-11)

This was supposed to be a night of jubilation. Instead, despair was all anyone could feel.

[HarkTheSound]

Prairie View (14-18)vs Texas Southern (23-7)

March 15, 2009

Birmingham, Alabama - With the presumed conference player of the year out for the rest of the season in Lawrence Danner-Johnson, coach Logan Martinez and his staff were forced to go back to the drawing board. Danner-Johnson's production (16.9 ppg, 3 apg, 46% shooting, 40% from three) is impossible for any one player on the Tigers to duplicate.

Regardless, JUCO sophomore Micah Flowers was inserted into the starting lineup by Martinez. Flowers has had numerous games this season of scoring 20+ points in his role as sixth man, and as it turned out, he was the reason the Tigers manged to pull out this victory.

Flowers knocked down shots and served as the playmaker of the offense, tallying 23 points, grabbing 4 rebounds, dishing out 8 assists, and, accumulating 3 steals. Flowers made key plays when the Tigers needed it most and more than made up for the loss of Danner-Johnson in this contest.

In only his second year as coach, Logan Martinez has guided the Texas Southern program to its first ever NCAA Tournament birth. This breakthrough victory, in the face of immense adversity, shows the resiliency and determination of Martinez, his staff, and the players. It certainly wasn't pretty as there were times when the offense sputtered and the players looked out of place without their co-captain, but in the end, the Tigers made plays when they had to (with the help of several missed free throws by Prairie View) and pulled out the 79-70 victory.

They could have easily folded up their tents and left Birmingham using "The Ankle" (as this issue is being called in the Houston area the past two day) as an excuse for not winning a SWAC title that was theirs to lose in the first place.

Now, the Tigers will finally experience the satisfaction of their hard work later this afternoon when they see their names flash across the screen on Selection Sunday.

[HarkTheSound]

Here is the Selection Show for the 08-09 NCAA Tournament!

[HarkTheSound]

NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET

East Region

#1 Duke (25-6) vs #16 Army (14-19)
#8 Clemson (17-12) vs #9 South Florida (21-13)
#5 UCLA (23-9) vs #12 Texas Southern (24-7)
#4 Texas (21-9) vs #13 Harvard (19-11)
#6 Minnesota (22-10) vs #11 Temple (23-10)
#3 Kansas (21-8) vs #14 Houston (17-16)
#7 West Virginia (21-11) vs #10 Saint Louis (22-10)
#2 Maryland (25-9) vs #15 Eastern Washington (18-10)

South Region

#1 Baylor (26-5) vs #16 Charleston Southern (14-15)
#8 Arizona State (19-12) vs #9 Illinois (22-12)
#5 Georgia Tech (22-10) vs #12 Oral Roberts (21-8)
#4 South Carolina (26-6) vs #13 VCU (19-12)
#6 Oregon (20-10) vs #11 Fresno State (23-7)
#3 UConn (23-9) vs #14 Iona (19-15)
#7 Indiana (22-12) vs #10 Wyoming (23-9)
#2 Tennessee (22-7) vs #15 Butler (15-17)

Midwest Region

#1 Marquette (25-9) vs #16 Morgan State (18-14)
#8 Iowa State (21-9) vs #9 NC State (19-10)
#5 Washington State (22-9) vs #12 Drake (18-14)
#4 Pittsburgh (22-9) vs #13 Stony Brook (19-12)
#6 Villanova (21-10) vs #11 Oregon State (21-13)
#3 Florida State (23-9) vs #14 ULM (21-15)
#7 Purdue (20-10) vs #10 Utah (21-10)
#2 Xavier (27-5) vs #15 North Florida (17-15)

West Region

#1 Florida (25-6) vs #16 UC Davis (15-15)
#8 Kentucky (20-12) vs #9 UMBC (23-6)
#5 Oklahoma (23-10) vs #12 St. Mary's (21-9)
#4 Oklahoma State (19-8) vs #12 Western Michigan (18-13)
#6 Memphis (19-7) vs #11 College of Charleston (24-7)
#3 Notre Dame (23-10) vs #14 Jacksonville State (18-11)
#7 Michigan State (20-11) vs #10 Penn State (19-11)
#2 Louisville (25-7) vs #15 UT-Arlington (16-12)

Conference Breakdown:

Big East: 8
Big 12: 6
ACC: 6
Big Ten: 6
Pac-10: 5
SEC: 4
A-10: 3
MWC: 2
AEC: 2
C-USA: 2

[mpejkrm]

Congrats on making the tournament! Always fun seeing another SWAC coach... I'll be following this!

Also, what did you use to record the video? Very nice quality.