TicketsIt was a late May day when the universe called Sam Martin back to competition, and he answered.
"What brought me back, honestly, besides the guys, was when I thought to myself, 'I'm going to be going to school here still, getting my master's, watching them on TV, going to games in the stands. I was thinking, "If I'm going to school here, why would I not, and if I had the option to, why not?' I would be disappointed in myself for not doing it if I had the opportunity."
Martin, a fifth-year walk-on with the Cincinnati men's basketball team, had earned his finance degree to go with two NCAA tournaments and a whole lot more blood, sweat and tears on the court, all under two coaches as well.
Then, Wes Miller was hired on April 15.
"They said to me, 'dude, that's funny you say that because Coach Miller was saying he needed a walk-on, and you should do it.' I was on the fence, but I was already planning on coming back anyways. Coach (Chris) LePore called me and asked what I was thinking since people kept bringing my name up, and at that point I had to make a decision."
This year's team features eight newcomers: seven through the transfer portal and another freshman, C.J. Anthony, who is also a walk-on. The staff is all new faces, save for a few that were around during the start of Martin's career in 2017-18: head trainer Bob Mangine, strength and conditioning coach Mike Rehfeldt, director of player development DerMarr Johnson…
And graduate assistant Kyle Washington, a senior star that year. He is in his first coaching role after a few years overseas.
"I don't think the newer guys realized how long I've been here," said Martin, one of three players in the AAC to spend five years at his current school (Houston's Fabian White Jr. and Tulsa's Darien Jackson as the others). "When they found out that I was teammates with Kyle, (they're surprised). Everybody asks what he was like as a player, and I. say he's exactly the same as he is a coach."
One of Martin's primary roles, as paralleled with other sports, is running point on the scout team. The plethora of opponents' offensive and defensive formations, including baseline and sideline out-of-bounds sets, can be quite the challenge. It's a critical part to the team's preparation and success.
"It's typically a two-day thing," he said. "That's subject to change when we have games in short periods, so some days it's a one-day scout. Us scout team guys just get to watch the plays for 20 minutes and then run them in practice. We make up names for them. I'm pretty good at knowing the plays, and that's kind of my job with Coach (Mike) Roberts. He expects me to know them all in case someone else forgets. I can kind of direct them while I'm doing my stuff too."
Martin went to some Cincinnati games growing up and watched even more on TV, citing Jason Maxiell and Jason White as two players he admired the most. He was also an eighth-grader at Summit Country Day when future Bearcat starter Kevin Johnson (2013-17) led the _____ to the state championship game.
Come senior year, it was decision time for Martin.
"I was looking at a lot of Division II and III schools for high academics because I was getting a lot of money just for my grades," he said. "It kind of worked out perfectly. I got into the Lindner Honors Plus program here at UC (becoming the first men's basketball player to be in it). I was getting just as much money to come here, which worked out perfectly."
Mick Cronin, a native son of the Queen City, who served as an assistant under some of Bob Huggins' best teams and later the head coach in 2006, had an eye on Martin.
"He grew up playing with and against my uncle. He reached out to me through him, asking 'would Sam be interested in being a walk-on here?' That was crazy. It was at the exact time I was applying and going through the Honors Plus program. Once I got in, I came in to talk with Coach Cronin and he offered me a spot."
And by goodness, what a time to join the buzzsaw of a program, sending Sam straight into the fire with a top-5 team.
"One thing that stood out to me that year was how good the American Conference was. I don't think we were picked to win it because Wichita State had a lot of returners that year, from Landry Shamet, Frankamp and Norris. We knew it was going to be us and them, and that's when Houston was on the upswing. Every game was sold out at NKU (UC's home during the Fifth Third Arena renovations).
"I remember early in the year when we lost to Xavier and Florida back-to-back, and you would have thought the world was ending. Then, we just went on a big stretch of winning. It was a surreal experience."
Martin has appeared in 32 games, earning starts in each of the last two Senior Days. The first one, which could have been his last, meant he could not have his parents with him due to COVID restrictions.
This year, with the grateful return of full-capacity crowds to Fifth Third Arena, Martin got everything and more from the Red and Black faithful, including resounding "We Want Sam" chants early in the season.
"That's the thing with Cincinnati, they've always loved their walk-ons. This is the first year they've done the chant. I love the support, and the other guys are like 'God, man, they love you here.' Everybody asks if I remember every time I go in, and I don't. Everybody thinks the only thing I care about is getting in. At the end of the day, I just want to win games. If we're winning, everybody's life is better."
Now, how about those academics?
With Martin's finance program, he had to have at least three semesters of internships. He says it was actually supposed to be four, but he was able to get an exception with basketball serving as a full-time job in itself. He was able to do two semesters in the summer after his freshman year before five-straight of simply school. Then, another this summer after his junior year, which was remote due to COVID.
"Last spring was my final one," he said. "I found a co-op that allowed me to be flexible at the beginning of the semester with basketball, so it was kind of part-time. Then, I worked full-time towards the end, so it worked out well for me. My big thing was I had to somehow find someone who was really flexible with hours."
Martin worked at PDO, an accounting firm downtown as a freshman, which he says was when he was still on the fence about choosing finance or accounting, ultimately the former. His other two internships were with Martin and Associates.
"I was just an assistant to the manager basically," he said. "I worked on a lot of projects, like new clients. With COVID, some people didn't like going onto sites and such, so I was kind of the bridge between one of our owners and the new clients. I helped them get up and running in the systems that we used."
Of course, basketball student-athlete metaphors have prepared him for what's next, particularly with his endgame.
"I had a conversation with my scholarship donor about that. A couple of years ago, the question was what I was trying to do after school, and I couldn't even think about three days from then. Right now, my plan after college is to go back to Martin and Associates and keep working with them. Beyond that, I'm still trying to figure it out a little bit. I'm getting my master's in Business Analytics, and I got my degree in finance so somewhere where those two merge. I feel like I'm more on the business analytics side, but I'd say I'm open to anything."
Coach Miller, however, provided the most conviction related to the topic following the Nov. 18 Presbyterian game.
"He's way too smart to be a coach."
"What brought me back, honestly, besides the guys, was when I thought to myself, 'I'm going to be going to school here still, getting my master's, watching them on TV, going to games in the stands. I was thinking, "If I'm going to school here, why would I not, and if I had the option to, why not?' I would be disappointed in myself for not doing it if I had the opportunity."
Martin, a fifth-year walk-on with the Cincinnati men's basketball team, had earned his finance degree to go with two NCAA tournaments and a whole lot more blood, sweat and tears on the court, all under two coaches as well.
Then, Wes Miller was hired on April 15.
"They said to me, 'dude, that's funny you say that because Coach Miller was saying he needed a walk-on, and you should do it.' I was on the fence, but I was already planning on coming back anyways. Coach (Chris) LePore called me and asked what I was thinking since people kept bringing my name up, and at that point I had to make a decision."
This year's team features eight newcomers: seven through the transfer portal and another freshman, C.J. Anthony, who is also a walk-on. The staff is all new faces, save for a few that were around during the start of Martin's career in 2017-18: head trainer Bob Mangine, strength and conditioning coach Mike Rehfeldt, director of player development DerMarr Johnson…
And graduate assistant Kyle Washington, a senior star that year. He is in his first coaching role after a few years overseas.
"I don't think the newer guys realized how long I've been here," said Martin, one of three players in the AAC to spend five years at his current school (Houston's Fabian White Jr. and Tulsa's Darien Jackson as the others). "When they found out that I was teammates with Kyle, (they're surprised). Everybody asks what he was like as a player, and I. say he's exactly the same as he is a coach."
One of Martin's primary roles, as paralleled with other sports, is running point on the scout team. The plethora of opponents' offensive and defensive formations, including baseline and sideline out-of-bounds sets, can be quite the challenge. It's a critical part to the team's preparation and success.
"It's typically a two-day thing," he said. "That's subject to change when we have games in short periods, so some days it's a one-day scout. Us scout team guys just get to watch the plays for 20 minutes and then run them in practice. We make up names for them. I'm pretty good at knowing the plays, and that's kind of my job with Coach (Mike) Roberts. He expects me to know them all in case someone else forgets. I can kind of direct them while I'm doing my stuff too."
Martin went to some Cincinnati games growing up and watched even more on TV, citing Jason Maxiell and Jason White as two players he admired the most. He was also an eighth-grader at Summit Country Day when future Bearcat starter Kevin Johnson (2013-17) led the _____ to the state championship game.
Come senior year, it was decision time for Martin.
"I was looking at a lot of Division II and III schools for high academics because I was getting a lot of money just for my grades," he said. "It kind of worked out perfectly. I got into the Lindner Honors Plus program here at UC (becoming the first men's basketball player to be in it). I was getting just as much money to come here, which worked out perfectly."
Mick Cronin, a native son of the Queen City, who served as an assistant under some of Bob Huggins' best teams and later the head coach in 2006, had an eye on Martin.
"He grew up playing with and against my uncle. He reached out to me through him, asking 'would Sam be interested in being a walk-on here?' That was crazy. It was at the exact time I was applying and going through the Honors Plus program. Once I got in, I came in to talk with Coach Cronin and he offered me a spot."
And by goodness, what a time to join the buzzsaw of a program, sending Sam straight into the fire with a top-5 team.
"One thing that stood out to me that year was how good the American Conference was. I don't think we were picked to win it because Wichita State had a lot of returners that year, from Landry Shamet, Frankamp and Norris. We knew it was going to be us and them, and that's when Houston was on the upswing. Every game was sold out at NKU (UC's home during the Fifth Third Arena renovations).
"I remember early in the year when we lost to Xavier and Florida back-to-back, and you would have thought the world was ending. Then, we just went on a big stretch of winning. It was a surreal experience."
Martin has appeared in 32 games, earning starts in each of the last two Senior Days. The first one, which could have been his last, meant he could not have his parents with him due to COVID restrictions.
This year, with the grateful return of full-capacity crowds to Fifth Third Arena, Martin got everything and more from the Red and Black faithful, including resounding "We Want Sam" chants early in the season.
"That's the thing with Cincinnati, they've always loved their walk-ons. This is the first year they've done the chant. I love the support, and the other guys are like 'God, man, they love you here.' Everybody asks if I remember every time I go in, and I don't. Everybody thinks the only thing I care about is getting in. At the end of the day, I just want to win games. If we're winning, everybody's life is better."
Now, how about those academics?
With Martin's finance program, he had to have at least three semesters of internships. He says it was actually supposed to be four, but he was able to get an exception with basketball serving as a full-time job in itself. He was able to do two semesters in the summer after his freshman year before five-straight of simply school. Then, another this summer after his junior year, which was remote due to COVID.
"Last spring was my final one," he said. "I found a co-op that allowed me to be flexible at the beginning of the semester with basketball, so it was kind of part-time. Then, I worked full-time towards the end, so it worked out well for me. My big thing was I had to somehow find someone who was really flexible with hours."
Martin worked at PDO, an accounting firm downtown as a freshman, which he says was when he was still on the fence about choosing finance or accounting, ultimately the former. His other two internships were with Martin and Associates.
"I was just an assistant to the manager basically," he said. "I worked on a lot of projects, like new clients. With COVID, some people didn't like going onto sites and such, so I was kind of the bridge between one of our owners and the new clients. I helped them get up and running in the systems that we used."
Of course, basketball student-athlete metaphors have prepared him for what's next, particularly with his endgame.
"I had a conversation with my scholarship donor about that. A couple of years ago, the question was what I was trying to do after school, and I couldn't even think about three days from then. Right now, my plan after college is to go back to Martin and Associates and keep working with them. Beyond that, I'm still trying to figure it out a little bit. I'm getting my master's in Business Analytics, and I got my degree in finance so somewhere where those two merge. I feel like I'm more on the business analytics side, but I'd say I'm open to anything."
Coach Miller, however, provided the most conviction related to the topic following the Nov. 18 Presbyterian game.
"He's way too smart to be a coach."