Former Golden Eagle hooper Ryan Martin inks professional contract in Italy
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Former Tennessee Tech men’s basketball standout Ryan Martin recently signed a professional contract with Banco di Sardegna Sassari of the Italian professional league Serie A.
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Former Tennessee Tech men's basketball standout Ryan Martin recently signed a professional contract with Banco di Sardegna Sassari of the Italian professional league Serie A.
The 6-foot-9 forward is projects as a starter for his first professional squad after starting in 30 of 31 contests for the Golden Eagles this past year.
Granted just one season by the NCAA to prove himself on the court after transferring from South Plains College, Martin made every minute count in 2015-16, guiding the Golden Eagles to a 19-12 record and the team's first postseason bid since 2011-12, a trip to the inaugural Vegas 16 Tournament.
A year after claiming just four conference wins, Martin helped Tech to an 11-5 mark in the league and a trip back to the OVC Tournament while starting in 30 and appearing in all 31 of the team's contests. Behind his leadership on the court, the Golden Eagles notched a 14-1 mark in the Eblen Center.
On his way to All-OVC Second Team and OVC All-Newcomer honors, the London, England native led Tech and ranked fourth in the league with 8.2 rebounds per game. The big man averaged 14.0 points and 28.9 minutes per contest while shooting 52 percent from the field and an impressive 78.2 percent from the charity stripe.
He tallied 10 doubles throughout the season while earning OVC Newcomer of the Week honors four times. With Martin leading the frontcourt the 2015-16 squad made its mark on the record books, ranking second all-time in program history with 266 three pointers, third with 566 made free throws and a 74.3 free throw percentage, and fifth with 2,416 points and a 36.4 3-point percentage.
His efforts on the year garnered him Male Newcomer of the Year honors at the first ever Golden Wings Awards and landed him a place among the finalists for Male Athlete of the Year.
Martin is one of eight former Golden Eagles currently playing professionally, along with Dwan Caldwell (Mongolia), Anthony Fisher (Israel), Charles Jackson (Turkey), Amadi McKenzie (France), Liam McMorrow (Iran), Anthony Morse (Romania), and Kevin Murphy (NBA Orlando Magic). Two more former Tech stars, Damien Kinloch and Torrance Rowe, are expected to sign professional contracts in the near future.
Photo by Tony Marable
