Jeffery Allen Martin (born January 14, 1967) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. Martin, a 6'5"

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

from

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...

, was selected in the second round, 31st pick overall in the

1989 NBA draft The 1989–90 NBA season, 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft produced many talented play ...

, by the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

. He played two seasons in the NBA.

College career

In 1988, Martin became the first basketball player in Murray State, and

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

, history to be invited to the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

trials for the US Basketball Team. This was the last year that professionals were not allowed on the team. Martin did not make the team but impressed many with his performance. In 1989, he was named an All-American and had his number (15) retired. He is still the all-time scoring leader in the Murray State men's basketball program history with 2,484 points

Professional career

Martin played in the

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 ...

from

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, with career averages of 7 points and 2

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

in 143

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

contests. Having played during preseason with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, Martin was waived before 1991-92 began, subsequently moving to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, where he appeared for Scaini Venezia (1991–92), Natwest Zaragoza (1992–93), Baloncesto Salamanca (1995–96),

Baloncesto Fuenlabrada Baloncesto Fuenlabrada, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., known as Flexicar Fuenlabrada because of sponsorship reasons, or just as Fuenlabrada, is a professional basketball team based in Fuenlabrada, Spain. The team plays in the Primera FEB and ...

and Besançon Basket (1996–97),

CB Ciudad de Huelva Club Baloncesto Ciudad de Huelva was a professional basketball team based in Huelva, Andalucia. The last season, (2007–08) the team played in LEB Oro. History CB Ciudad de Huelva was founded in 1996. In their first season, they win the LEB Lea ...

(1997–98) and Montpellier Basket (2000–01). These were punctuated by brief returns to the U.S., in both 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 ...

(CBA), always with 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 ...

, and the

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The ...

(IBL). Martin was a three-time selection to the All-CBA Second Team in 1992, 1994 and 1999, and named as the CBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in 1994.

References

External links

College & NBA stats
@ basketballreference.com
Basketpedya career data
1967 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Baloncesto Fuenlabrada players Basket CRO Lyon players Basketball players from Arkansas Besançon BCD players CB Zaragoza players Grand Rapids Hoops players Las Vegas Silver Bandits players Liga ACB players Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Los Angeles Clippers players Montpellier Paillade Basket players Murray State Racers men's basketball players People from Cherry Valley, Arkansas Reyer Venezia players Shooting guards SIG Strasbourg players {{1960s-US-basketball-bio-stub