Erik Martin (born May 26, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former professional player, currently serving as head coach for

South Carolina State South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only public, historically black land-grant research university in South Carolina, is a member o ...

. A native of California, Martin played one season of

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

before transferring to

Santa Ana College Santa Ana College is a public community college in Santa Ana, California. History In 1915, Santa Ana Junior College opened its doors to 25 students as a department of Santa Ana High School. It was the second community college founded in Orange ...

, a junior college in California where he was a first-team All-State selection. In 1991 he joined the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

, and with the Bearcats he reached the Final Four during the 1992 NCAA tournament. After going undrafted in the

1993 NBA draft The 1993–94 NBA season, 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Pen ...

he played for various CBA teams and abroad in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. He also earned two selections in the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

: he won the silver medal at the

1995 Pan American Games The 1995 Pan American Games, officially known as the XII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Mar del Plata 1995, were held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, from 12 to 26 March 1995. After 44 years, this was the Pan American Games' first retur ...

and the gold medal during the

1997 Tournament of the Americas The 1997 Tournament of the Americas, later known as the FIBA Americas Championship and the FIBA AmeriCup, was a basketball championship hosted by Uruguay from 21 to 31, August 1997. The games were played in Montevideo. This FIBA AmeriCup was to ea ...

. After retiring as a player he has held several assistant coach jobs, mainly for

Bob Huggins Robert Edward Huggins (born September 21, 1953), nicknamed "Huggy Bear", is an American college basketball coach. He was the head coach at Walsh, Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State, and West Virginia. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial ...

, first at

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

and later at West Virginia.

High school career

Martin is a native of

West Covina, California West Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located east of downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, it is part of Greater Los Angeles Area, Greater Los Angeles. The population for the city was 109,501 ...

, and he attended

Whittier Christian High School Whittier Christian High School is a non-profit, non-denominational, Christian high school located in La Habra, California. It was founded in 1958. The high school has a gymnasium named the Leon Davis Event Center, after the school worker Leon Dav ...

in nearby

La Habra La Habra – archaic spelling of – is a city in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California, United States. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,239. History Origin of name The name referred to the "Pass Through ...

, where he played as a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

. A starter since his sophomore year, in his junior season Martin averaged 21.9 points and 14.1 rebounds per game, earning the Most Valuable Player award in the 1-A league and was selected in the All-Southern and All-State First Teams. Martin was again selected as first-team all-state for his senior year, during which he averaged 24.1 points per game. During his time at Whittier Christian, Martin was an honor student.

College career

Martin signed to play for

in February 1988, having already signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement, term she ...

in the previous months. Under head coach

Moe Iba Henry W. "Moe" Iba (born May 31, 1939) is an American former basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Memphis State University, now known as the University of Memphis, from 1966 to 1970, Nebraska from 1980 to 1986, and ...

, Martin

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his true freshman season in 1988–89 and received limited playing time in the 1989–90 season as a 6-foot-5, 198-pound freshman; at the end of the season he had appeared in all 29 games played by the team, starting 7 of them, and he had posted averages of 6.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 15.2 minutes per game; he was the 4th best rebounder and the 6th best scorer on his team. In April 1990 Martin announced that he was leaving TCU and transferring to another school; he chose

(which at the time was called Rancho Santiago Junior College). While at Rancho Santiago, Martin averaged 22.5 points (832 total) and 9.4 rebounds per game over 37 games (he averaged 25 points per game over 12 games of conference play), and established a program record for highest field goal percentage in a season with 63.7%. At the end of the season Rancho Santiago won the state championship, and Martin was selected in the All-State first team. In 2006 Martin was inducted in the Santa Ana College Hall of Fame. In 1991 Martin and junior college teammate Corie Blount decided to transfer to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. Martin and Blount were recruited by assistant coach Steve Moeller, who had brought to the Bearcats other junior college players:

Nick Van Exel Nickey Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who last served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Van Exel played for six NBA ...

, Terry Nelson and Herb Jones (who had transferred to Cincinnati in 1990). Martin chose jersey number 3 and in his first year with his new team he played in all 34 games of the season, being employed off the bench by coach

: he averaged 6.3 points and 4 rebounds while playing 16.4 minutes per game, and he was the 5th best scorer on the team, the 3rd best rebounder (behind Jones and Blount), and the 3rd best shotblocker (0.5 per game). The Bearcats experienced a successful season and won the Great Midwest Conference tournament, gaining access to the NCAA tournament: Martin played all 5 games of the tournament, averaging 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds, and during the Final Four he recorded a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds against

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in a tournament-high 30 minutes of play. Martin stayed at Cincinnati also for his senior season in 1992–93. On December 11, 1992, in a game against Southeast Missouri State, Martin shot 10-for-11 from the field (90.9%), recording the 2nd-best shooting performance in Cincinnati history at the time.''2016–17 Cincinnati Basketball Media Guide'', 2016, p. 72. On January 27, 1993, Martin recorded a career-high 6 steals against Xavier. Martin ended the season averaging 13.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 27.1 minutes per game, having started all 31 games. He ranked 2nd on the team in scoring behind Van Exel, and was the team leader in rebounds and blocks per game; that year he also led the conference in field goal percentage with 60.3%. Cincinnati again qualified for the NCAA tournament, and Martin played all 4 games, recording a tournament-high 21 points against

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

on March 21, and played 42 minutes against

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

on March 28, posting 16 points and 6 rebounds. In 1993 Martin was selected in the All-

Great Midwest Conference The Great Midwest Conference was an NCAA Division I athletics conference that existed from 1991 to 1995. History It was formed in 1990 with six members: Cincinnati and Memphis State (now Memphis) from the Metro Conference, UAB from the Sun Be ...

Second Team.

College statistics

Career summary and college stats as per Erik Martin's trading card for the 1992–93 Bearcats season. , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

, 29 , , 7 , , 15.2 , , .681 , , .500 , , .587 , , 4.3 , , 1.4 , , 0.4 , , 0.7 , , 6.9 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 34 , , 0 , , 16.4 , , .525 , , .000 , , .561 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.9 , , 0.5 , , 6.3 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 31 , , 31 , , 27.1 , , .603 , , .000 , , .650 , , 6.7 , , 1.4 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 13.5 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 94 , , 38 , , 19.6 , , .597 , , .250 , , .611 , , 5.0 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 8.9 , -

Professional career

After the end of his senior season in 1993, Martin was automatically eligible for the

, but he was not drafted by an

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

franchise. He was selected by the

Grand Rapids Hoops The Grand Rapids Hoops were a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their first season was in 1989 and their final season was in 2003. Professional basketball later returned to ...

in the 2nd round (21st overall) of the 1993 CBA draft. On October 28, 1993, Martin signed a non-guaranteed one-year contract with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

of the NBA, as a replacement for injured forward

Chris Gatling Chris Raymond Gatling (born September 3, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Gatling played for many National Basketball Association (NBA) teams from 1991 to 2002. He played for the US national team in the 1990 FIBA Wor ...

; he was waived on November 2, and signed with the

Yakima Sun Kings The Yakima SunKings were a basketball team located in Yakima, Washington, covering the central Washington sports market of Yakima, Tri-Cities, and Ellensburg and plays at the Yakima SunDome. The team competed in the Continental Basketball Assoc ...

of the CBA. In his rookie season in the CBA Martin played 55 games (22 starts), averaging 11.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and also appeared in a playoff game, recording 14 points and 5 rebounds in 25 minutes of play. At the end of the season Martin was selected in the CBA All-Rookie First Team. For the following season Martin decided to stay with the Sun Kings, and appeared in 45 games with averages of 12.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1,8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.7 blocks per game in 26 minutes per contest; he was selected in the All-Defensive Team and was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year, finishing behind Mike Bell. At the end of the season the Sun Kings won the league title, and Martin averaged 9.8 points and 5.7 rebounds over 14 playoff games. In the summer of 1995 Martin had shoulder surgery, and did not play a single game during the 1995–96 CBA season. Martin had then signed with the

Fort Wayne Fury The Fort Wayne Fury was a professional basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1991 through the cessation of the CBA on February 8, 2001. History The team played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne ...

, and was traded in June 1996 to the

Omaha Racers The Omaha Racers were an American minor league basketball team based in Omaha, Nebraska. The franchise played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1989 to 1997. The team's franchise linage started in 1982 as the Wisconsin Flyers ...

. With the new team Martin found increased playing time, starting 22 of 47 games and averaging 9.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He also participated in postseason play, averaging 8 points and 4.6 rebounds over 9 games. In 1997 Martin signed with the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a landlocked state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west; the state s ...

, a new franchise that selected him during the 1997 CBA expansion draft in late May. He started the season with the Stampede; after 10 games (9 starts) during which he averaged 8.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and a career-high 3.2 assists per game, Martin joined the

La Crosse Bobcats The La Crosse Bobcats were a Continental Basketball Association (CBA) basketball team located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, from 1996 to the league's bankruptcy in February 2001. The Bobcats were the second CBA team located in La Crosse; previously, th ...

, and played 35 games with the team, averaging 6.5 points and 4.9 rebounds. Towards the end of the season he joined the Yakima Sun Kings again, and played 5 regular season games and 5 playoff games. In 2000 Martin played for the Luckipar Panthers in

. He then spent the 2000–01 season in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

with Denso Hoop Gang. Martin played for the

Seoul SK Knights The Seoul SK Knights () is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League. The club was originally founded by Jinro Group in 1997 as Cheongju Jinro McCass. Before the official launch of the basketball club, Jinro Group filed fo ...

for the

2001–02 KBL season The 2001–02 Anycall Professional Basketball season was the sixth season of the Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League () or simply KBL is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The ...

, averaging 14.8 points and 12.3 rebounds per game over 45 games.

National team career

Martin was called up for the

United States men's national basketball team The USA Basketball Men's National Team, commonly known as Team USA and the United States men's national basketball team, is the basketball team representing the United States. It is the most successful men's team in international competition, ...

for the first time in 1995 for the XII Pan American Games held in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The US national team was put together by

Mike Thibault Michael Francis Thibault (born September 28, 1950) is an American basketball head coach and basketball general manager. He is the head coach of the Belgium, Belgian women's national basketball team Belgian Cats since 2025. Before he coached the C ...

and included only players from the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

, an American minor league: Martin was playing for the

at the time, and had just won the 1994–95 CBA season with the team. During the competition Martin played 7 games, and averaged 7.7 points and 3.9 rebounds, shooting 75.8% from the field (second on the team behind Mike Williams). At the end of the Pan American Games the United States won the silver medal, having lost the final game to

, despite Martin's 15 points and 8 rebounds. Martin received a second call-up for Team USA in 1997, and was included in the team that participated in the

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. Again, the team was formed by CBA players, and Martin was a member of the

roster at the time. Martin played all 9 games during the competition, averaging 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, led the team in blocks with a total of 9 (tied with Michael McDonald), and won the gold medal. Martin ended his career in the national team with 16 total caps over a period of 2 years.

Coaching career

After the end of his professional career as a player, Martin took up coaching. He started in 2003 at Jacobs Center High School in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, and had the double role of head coach of the junior varsity team and assistant coach for the varsity team for one season. He then joined the coaching staff of

Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Cincinnati State Technical and Community College (CSTCC, CincyState, or Cincinnati State) is a public technical and community college in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. History Chartered by the Ohio Board o ...

as an assistant to head coach Andre Tate, and spent two years in the position. In August 2006 he joined

' staff at

for the 2006–07 season, on his first position in an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

program. When Huggins took up the head coach position at

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, Martin followed him; he began working as an assistant coach in the 2007–08 season.

South Carolina State

On July 11, 2022, it was announced that Martin would become the next head coach for South Carolina State, his first head coaching role.

Head coaching record

References

External links

College stats at Sports-Reference.comWest Virginia profileCBA stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Erik 1971 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American expatriate basketball people in Taiwan American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from Los Angeles County, California Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball players Idaho Stampede (CBA) players Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball coaches La Crosse Bobcats players Basketball players at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in basketball Omaha Racers players Power forwards Seoul SK Knights players TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball players United States men's national basketball team players West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball coaches Yakima Sun Kings players 20th-century American sportsmen