'18 NY G Malik Martin (Rhode Island Commit)

[bkoeppen]

“Usually after the season ends, everybody comes back to campus and you have end-of-season meetings, dialogues, an opportunity to air things,” Sanchez said. “We didn’t have that. That’s been removed from college basketball this season.”

So true and you wonder how many of these transfers could have been prevented if this was a normal basketball season. And on top of it, trying to find a new school by virtual tours of the campus and no real face to face. What a mess.

[Ramrod]

I can't wait to do the minutes projections for this team. So interesting with all the moving parts, my head is spinning. I think perhaps the Malik to Tyrese comparisons are overstating it a bit. I see Toppin starting and getting basically all of Tyrese's minutes. Depending on how Toppin develops, that could be a wash or even an improvement. Malik will take the minutes that Toppin and Long got as Freshmen. To me, that's an upgrade too. A much more solid and experienced player who will show up night to night. Harris and Walker's minutes probably stay the same, and Cyril's minutes go to the twins. More minutes go to the front court overall so that Abou gets some time as well. I won't even go into the backcourt here, but there's definitely more depth than there was last year when we rode our only two guys into the dirt by the end of the season.

[Running Ram]

Now that we need it to happen, why do I have the sinking feeling the NCAA is not going to allow immediate transfer eligibility?

[ramster]

I’d love to see Toppin start but the guy was only getting 15 mpg the last month of the season
I hope he starts but I doubt it

[giovanni]

"He was one of the best defenders in the entire conference as a sophomore."

Absolutely. Grit, high motor and defense is in his DNA. And remember playing 2 years for Ron Sanchez can only help your defensive toughness and acumen, as he was Tony Bennett right hand man for a long time and no one teaches defense better. Martin can also shoot it and has grown to 6-6 and long, he was 6-2 or so coming out of high school. IMO everyone will love this kid.

[Ramrod]

I’d love to see Toppin start but the guy was only getting 15 mpg the last month of the season
I hope he starts but I doubt it

Yeah, if he's the same player he was this past year, no question you're right. But if he follows the same growth and development curve of his brother, then it would be coaching malpractice to not have him on the court as much as possible. With all the new players on the team, Jacob is still the guy I'm most excited to see next year.

[Billyboy78]

The continued development of kids like Toppin could depend on whether or not there are summer session this year and if kids are allowed on campus. They can continue working on their game individually, but obviously it's not the same.

[ramster]

"He was one of the best defenders in the entire conference as a sophomore."

Absolutely. Grit, high motor and defense is in his DNA. And remember playing 2 years for Ron Sanchez can only help your defensive toughness and acumen, as he was Tony Bennett right hand man for a long time and no one teaches defense better. Martin can also shoot it and has grown to 6-6 and long, he was 6-2 or so coming out of high school. IMO everyone will love this kid.

You think are right Giovanni.

There were 4 Seniors on the All Defensive a Team, 1 Junior and Martin the only Sophomore (no freshmen)

Pretty impressive. And from a 14 team league.


2019-20 CONFERENCE USA ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Malik Martin, Charlotte, So., G, 6-6, 210, Staten Island, New York
Osasumwen Osaghae, FIU, Sr., F, 6-9, 250, Miami, Florida
Derric Jean, Louisiana Tech, R-Sr., 6-2, 190, Miami, Florida
Jarrod West, Marshall, Jr., G, 5-11, 185, Clarksburg, West Virginia
Aaron Carver, Old Dominion, Sr., F, 6-7, Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Jared Savage, WKU, R-Sr., G/F, 6-5, 205, Bowling Green, Kentucky

[sf2010]

...if he follows the same growth and development curve of his brother...

Can we please not hold Jacob to this standard when determining whether or not he's successful at URI? While we'd all love to see it, there's an awful lot of room for him to be a successful and valuable member of our team without anticipating him turning into a lottery pick.

(But Ramrod I'm real excited to see him too)

[adam914]

"He was one of the best defenders in the entire conference as a sophomore."

Absolutely. Grit, high motor and defense is in his DNA. And remember playing 2 years for Ron Sanchez can only help your defensive toughness and acumen, as he was Tony Bennett right hand man for a long time and no one teaches defense better. Martin can also shoot it and has grown to 6-6 and long, he was 6-2 or so coming out of high school. IMO everyone will love this kid.

This to me is the key on Malik. I think we'll get elite defense from him and some key contributions that might not always jump out on the stat sheet. That was definitely a hole on last years team at times, so I hope he should fit that need nicely.

I know shooting has been mentioned a bit to, but I don't think we should expect him to come in and be that knock down shooter we were lacking. The percentage is solid, but he was really only making 1 three per game. Its a plus that he hits them at a decent clip when he does shoot though.

[RamStock]

"He was one of the best defenders in the entire conference as a sophomore."

Absolutely. Grit, high motor and defense is in his DNA. And remember playing 2 years for Ron Sanchez can only help your defensive toughness and acumen, as he was Tony Bennett right hand man for a long time and no one teaches defense better. Martin can also shoot it and has grown to 6-6 and long, he was 6-2 or so coming out of high school. IMO everyone will love this kid.

This to me is the key on Malik. I think we'll get elite defense from him and some key contributions that might not always jump out on the stat sheet. That was definitely a hole on last years team at times, so I hope he should fit that need nicely.

I know shooting has been mentioned a bit to, but I don't think we should expect him to come in and be that knock down shooter we were lacking. The percentage is solid, but he was really only making 1 three per game. Its a plus that he hits them at a decent clip when he does shoot though.

I agree. I think your take on him is spot on. He is going to be a very good team player and something we missed last year. He isn’t going to go off for 20 pts with five three point shots on many nights.

[ramster]

"He was one of the best defenders in the entire conference as a sophomore."

Absolutely. Grit, high motor and defense is in his DNA. And remember playing 2 years for Ron Sanchez can only help your defensive toughness and acumen, as he was Tony Bennett right hand man for a long time and no one teaches defense better. Martin can also shoot it and has grown to 6-6 and long, he was 6-2 or so coming out of high school. IMO everyone will love this kid.

This to me is the key on Malik. I think we'll get elite defense from him and some key contributions that might not always jump out on the stat sheet. That was definitely a hole on last years team at times, so I hope he should fit that need nicely.

I know shooting has been mentioned a bit to, but I don't think we should expect him to come in and be that knock down shooter we were lacking. The percentage is solid, but he was really only making 1 three per game. Its a plus that he hits them at a decent clip when he does shoot though.

I agree. I think your take on him is spot on. He is going to be a very good team player and something we missed last year. He isn’t going to go off for 20 pts with five three point shots on many nights.

The strong teams have many players who can shoot the 3. Our 3P shooting has been dismal. We don’t need 1 guy who can shoot 3P’s effectively, we need 3 or 4 in the starting line up and proficient 3P shooters off the bench. We also have not been a good passing team with the exception being our 10 game win streak.

3P shooting along with good, unselfish passing of the ball to set up the 3Ps are huge parts of the game today. Dayton and Richmond get it. Davidson too. They do not have just one or two proficient shooters, they have several, depth in shooting.

[reef]

I think Malik will be the 6th man , Toppin should start at the 3 assuming Fatts comes back

Fatts
Shepherd
Toppin
JH
Mitchell

[Rhody74]

“Usually after the season ends, everybody comes back to campus and you have end-of-season meetings, dialogues, an opportunity to air things,” Sanchez said. “We didn’t have that. That’s been removed from college basketball this season.”

So true and you wonder how many of these transfers could have been prevented if this was a normal basketball season. And on top of it, trying to find a new school by virtual tours of the campus and no real face to face. What a mess.

Cox said something similar after Tyrese places himself n the portal. He said mid majors need to rerecruit players every year. But the shutdown prevented that this year.

[ramster]

I think Malik will be the 6th man , Toppin should start at the 3 assuming Fatts comes back

Fatts
Shepherd
Toppin
JH
Mitchell

I don’t care who starts, Just want Toppin to get a lot more minutes than he got this year. I think we underplayed him this season.

And in this age of immediate eligibility you’d best not to try to be too patient with your budding stars. Somebody is waiting out their to swoop in and give them more playing time.

[ElmCityRhody]

I think Malik will be the 6th man , Toppin should start at the 3 assuming Fatts comes back

Fatts
Shepherd
Toppin
JH
Mitchell

that's a big team there !

matchup problems galore !

come on FATTS - please return !

[Ramrod]

...if he follows the same growth and development curve of his brother...

Can we please not hold Jacob to this standard when determining whether or not he's successful at URI? While we'd all love to see it, there's an awful lot of room for him to be a successful and valuable member of our team without anticipating him turning into a lottery pick.

(But Ramrod I'm real excited to see him too)

100% agree. Love the kid already. But if I had to guess, I'd say he's going to develop and improve more than your average player. Take away the last name, just looking at the skills he already has plus what age, diet, and physical training do for you naturally, I'm very excited for his future. Also, with the quarantine, my mind is running a bit further in these directions than usual.

[DevRam]

I think Fatts, Toppin, JH and Mitchell are all locks for starting. Shep and Fatts are two very undersized guards so it would also make sense for Malik to start at the 2 guard. Either way Malik and Shep should have similar minutes and lineup strategies could change game to game.

[giovanni]

I don't think anyone is saying that Malik is the 2nd coming of Jimmy Baron as a shooter. I am not. But totally dismissing that part of his game is not fair. He did shoot 39% from 3 last year if I am correct and has improved greatly with his shot since HS and has 2 more years to continue to improve. 39% is not that bad for a guy whose obvious strengths are other than being a knock down shooter. But his ability to hit shots is a nice attribute and great compliment to his all around game. And to think he will be someone that automatically will be a "role" player and definitely come of the bench is poor characterization and most likely comes from opinions that are read on this board or an article somewhere, which is how too many takes come from on here.

We are not certain that the no sit transfer rule will pass. If it does, I think this will be an incredibly competitive roster for starting roles and playing time. I think too many are sleeping on the current roster also, outside of Fatts. I still have great hope JH and AW will make great strides and Jeremy and DJ wild cards, will be interesting

Also I recall when Jimmy Baron was hitting shots from the logo left and right and people on this board were complaining about what a poor defensive player he was. While its great to have a guy that shoots 50% from 3, plays lock down defense, is very athletic and passes like Magic Johnson, it is also unlikely and more typically a character created on Playstation.

[PeterRamTime]

Imagine how valuable Malik's defense will be for us when we go up against Richmond, Davidson and Dayton. We have to face some of the best shooting teams in the country and having a big lockdown guy like Malik will help a shitload.

[ramster]

I don't think anyone is saying that Malik is the 2nd coming of Jimmy Baron as a shooter. I am not. But totally dismissing that part of his game is not fair. He did shoot 39% from 3 last year if I am correct and has improved greatly with his shot since HS and has 2 more years to continue to improve. 39% is not that bad for a guy whose obvious strengths are other than being a knock down shooter. But his ability to hit shots is a nice attribute and great compliment to his all around game. And to think he will be someone that automatically will be a "role" player and definitely come of the bench is poor characterization and most likely comes from opinions that are read on this board or an article somewhere, which is how too many takes come from on here.

We are not certain that the no sit transfer rule will pass. If it does, I think this will be an incredibly competitive roster for starting roles and playing time. I think too many are sleeping on the current roster also, outside of Fatts. I still have great hope JH and AW will make great strides and Jeremy and DJ wild cards, will be interesting

Also I recall when Jimmy Baron was hitting shots from the logo left and right and people on this board were complaining about what a poor defensive player he was. While its great to have a guy that shoots 50% from 3, plays lock down defense, is very athletic and passes like Magic Johnson, it is also unlikely and more typically a character created on Playstation.

Agree Giovanni.
Imagine being without Malik right now having lost a sure fire Starter in Tyrese Martin?
It’s a blessing to have Malik - kudos to the staff.

[Iggy1979]

I think Malik will be the 6th man , Toppin should start at the 3 assuming Fatts comes back

Fatts
Shepherd
Toppin
JH
Mitchell

I don’t care who starts, Just want Toppin to get a lot more minutes than he got this year. I think we underplayed him this season.

And in this age of immediate eligibility you’d best not to try to be too patient with your budding stars. Somebody is waiting out their to swoop in and give them more playing time.

He played freshmen defense. Once he understands that half of the court he’ll play plenty.

[DC_Rams]

Sticky

[Seawrightspostgame]

Toppin is like 7 feet tall. I didn't know Martin was an all defensive player. Sounds good.

[Billyboy78]

Interview coming with the Martin brothers and Chris Disano.

[reef]

Cool should be fun

[CamsRams]

https://www.yurview.com/uri-rams/hassan ... asketball/

[Dino611]

Tweet was deleted what did it say?

[CamsRams]

https://www.yurview.com/uri-rams/hassan ... asketball/

[CamsRams]

[reef]

Great interview here we got a nice player it seems and a great kid

[The Dude]

Great quotes that epitomize the kind of players we love (in my opinion):
"Anyone who watches either of us play is going to point us out and say ‘those are players who do not want to lose the game." Malik (referencing him & Hassan)
"The tenacity and pride — we both have that same grit to us." - Hassan Martin (talking about him & Malik)

"You gotta take every possession like it’s the last. You can’t take a possession off no matter who you’re playing. Whether it’s the last team in the conference or the top team, you have to play every possession the same or you will lose no matter who you’re playing." - Malik

Any player that comes to play at URI should strive to be like these guys. This is how you earn respect.

[rhodyblue12]

Absolutely. Adding guys like this is how you get your program's culture moving in the right direction.

[CamsRams]

[CamsRams]

[Rhody83]

[DC_Rams]

Go Rhody!

[TruePoint]

Nice

[ElmCityRhody]

awesome news !

[Rhody74]

The official word:

https://gorhody.com/news/2020/8/25/mens ... ility.aspx

Oh God, I hope we have a normal season.

[FDshoes]

Went from no depth to coach cox now going to have a hard time getting everyone playing time. Always a double edged sword.

[reef]

Is Malik our best defensive player ??

[CamsRams]

“The addition of Makhi, Makhel, Jalen and Malik provide us with a tremendous infusion of talent, experience and depth,” Cox said Tuesday. “Meshing the pieces may be a challenge, but a potential issue well worth the energy. All are tremendous young men who share our core values. Truly welcomed additions to the Rhody family.”

[DeanDome88]

Look out A-10!

[hrstrat57]

yeah I'd pass on the meshing part personally. As a coach give me all the talent you can....I'll come up with a playbook.

This is top 5 all time URI recruiting well done.

Let's go Rhody!

[CamsRams]

Malik Martin, the younger brother of former URI star Hassan Martin received a transfer approval and is immediately eligible to play for the Rams this season. The Junior is the fourth transfer to get approved for the Rams as David Cox reloads his roster.

https://www.wpri.com/sports/college-spo ... er-waiver/