Jarell Martin doesn’t know what a sophomore slump is.
Since the start of the season, Martin has shown more confidence in his game from a year ago, averaging 21.5 points through two games this season.
“[My confidence is] growing a lot,” Martin said after scoring 21 points in the Tigers’ regular season opener against Gardner-Webb on Nov. 15. “Since my freshman year, I came in a little nervous and stuff, but now I’m comfortable and being patient with everything. I’m not rushing to score or anything. I’m just letting the game come to me.”
Martin’s freshman campaign started as many others do: relatively quiet. He played a total of 17 minutes in the Tigers’ first two regular-season games during the 2013-14 season while scoring a total of seven points on nine field goal attempts.
Martin’s early season struggles mostly were due to an ankle injury he suffered in the first minute of the Tigers’ season opener against UMass on Nov. 12, 2013. The injury kept him out for the rest of the game and noticeably hindered him throughout the first half of the season.
Martin said it has been helpful to start his sophomore season healthy, and it helped changed his game tremendously during the past year.
“I learned as the games come, you get more experience with playing more and more games,” Martin said. “Now that it’s my second year here, I’ve definitely matured and everything, and I’m more serious about the game. I know how important it is for me to come out there and get us going and be the energy guy to get us going as a team.”
His minutes began to increase as the season progressed, playing in the mid-20s to even the occasional 30-minute game. Martin struggled with his confidence early in the season, averaging 8.7 points per game near the halfway mark of the season.
Junior guard Keith Hornsby said Martin’s game and role was lightened due to the veteran talent and leaders he had around him, enabling him to let others make plays.
Martin’s role changed once the Tigers squared off against Arkansas on Feb. 1.
He scored 15 points against the Razorbacks while tallying 34 minutes of playing time. Martin increased his field goal attempts dramatically, nearly doubling his average up to that point and taking the ball to the basket 13 times.
The Arkansas game seemed to spark the 6-foot-10-inch forward as he scored double digits in all but four games the remaineder of the season, bringing his points per game average up to 10.3.
“I thought at the end of last year Jarell was playing as well as anyone on our team,” said coach Johnny Jones. “I thought that in terms of creating scoring opportunities and getting fouled and getting to the free throw line.”
Martin hasn’t skipped a beat since the end of last year. During the Tigers’ scrimmage against Morehouse College on Nov. 7, Martin sparked a second-half run, scoring 14 of his game-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting for the game.
He did much of the same in the Tigers’ regular-season opener, going 8-for-16 from the field to post his 21 points.
Martin’s increased confidence scoring on the floor has been noticed by many of his teammates. Hornsby said Martin has become a whole new player during the last year.
“He’s almost a totally different player and approaches the game totally different this year,” Hornsby said. “Obviously he was a freshman last year surrounded by veterans, so he got a good year to kind of learn the ropes. But this year, his experience is so valuable to us to step forth on the court and off the court as a leader, and I think the fact that he has done that has also improved his game.”
Martin went to numerous camps over the offseason to improve his game and become a leader on a Tigers’ squad that lost a considerable amount of veterans from a season ago.
Sophomore forward Jordan Mickey said Martin worked tirelessly to better improve his game and it increased his confidence dramatically.
“It’s something he’s been working on all summer,” Mickey said. “Improving his body, improving his game, improving his shot selection, so I’m happy for him.”
Freshman forward Aaron Epps said he looks up to Martin and said, no matter what the coaches ask of Martin, he does it.
Martin has a high motor and noticeable playmaking ability, and with the departure of Johnny O’Bryant to the NBA, it has helped him utilize his talent.
“With Johnny’s absence, we are able to vacate that low block and it opens up some driving opportunities for our perimeter guys,” Jones said. “And a lot of times, Jarell will have good matchups for him that he could maybe take advantage of.”
Martin settled his nerves and has become increasingly confident in each game he plays. And when Martin is on his game, it makes the rest of the Tigers’ squad happy to see.
“He’s 100 percent right now. He’s feeling good,” Mickey said. “He’s healthy right now, so he’s feeling real good about himself. He’s having fun, so I’m happy to see him doing great like that. I’m happy to see him taking shots and knocking them down.”