BATON ROUGE – LSU sophomore forward Jarell Martin made it official Wednesday afternoon telling a post-season media session in the LSU practice facility that he plans to forego his final two years of eligibility to enter the 2015 NBA draft.
Martin is coming off an All-SEC first team season in which he averaged 16.9 points overall to lead the team (3rd in the SEC) with 9.2 rebounds a game (second on the team, third in the league). In the SEC’s 18-game conference schedule he averaged 16.0 points and 9.0 rebounds.
The Baton Rouge Madison Prep product shot 50.9 percent from the floor (202-of-397, third in the SEC) and made a team best 140 free throws. He had 15 double doubles including six of the last 10 games of the season and a season-ending eight straight double figure scoring games.
As a freshman, he earned SEC All-Freshman honors averaging 10.3 points a game and 4.6 rebounds.
During his two seasons, the Tigers won 42 games, including 20 in the SEC, and appeared in two post-season tournaments — the NIT in 2014 and the NCAA in 2015.
The 2015 NBA Draft will be held June 25 in New York City and will be televised by ESPN.
LSU Men’s Basketball – Jarell Martin Press Conference
March 25, 2015
FORWARD JARELL MARTIN
Opening Statement…
“First off, I would like to thank you all for coming here today. Today, I will be announcing that I will forego my final two years of eligibility here at LSU and formally enter my name in the 2015 NBA Draft. This has not been an easy decision. I want to first thank my family, Coach Jones and all my great teammates. My experience at LSU has been a great one, and I now look forward to the new challenges ahead.”
On when he felt that he was ready to enter the NBA Draft during the season…
“When it started get towards the end of the season, and I started being really aggressive and making plays for my team – just doing a good job of being aggressive out there. I felt like I was physically and mentally prepared for the next level.”
On if he applied for a draft evaluation…
“I did not send it (the draft evaluation) out yet, but it will be sent out today. We will see what the evaluations will be.”
On if he had enough evidence to feel comfortable to enter the NBA Draft…
“I’ve been getting a lot of good reports. It sounds pretty good. Everything has been going good. I’ve just been getting good feedback from people up at the next level. I definitely feel like I am in a good situation.”
On his expectations coming into LSU and his reflections on his two seasons…
“My expectations coming in were that I definitely wanted to get this team to the (NCAA) tournament. We did that this year. I definitely feel great about it and accomplished that goal. I definitely wanted to go further, but we made it there with a young team. My goals going forward are just becoming the best player that I can be.”
On the transformation of his game between his freshman and sophomore seasons …
“Last year, I felt like I wasn’t ready. I needed to get better physically and mentally. This year, I’ve gotten better. I put in a lot of work during the offseason to get me to this stage, and it showed during the season. I went out there and played my heart out. I became more mature and responsible on the mental part. Now, I feel like I am physically and mentally prepared.”
On what he enjoyed most playing at LSU…
“The tradition – this atmosphere here and the fans. They treated me great. They were always behind us – win or lose. I couldn’t ask for much better teammates or this coaching staff. It was great playing with these guys and playing for them.”
On what was the hardest part about making the decision to enter the NBA Draft…
“It was a pretty tough decision with the guys that are coming in next year. From us losing in the second round of the tournament, I wanted to come back and try to go further in the tournament. Financial situations with my family, that played a big part in the decision. My dream has always been to go play in the NBA. That played hand-in-hand (in the decision).”
On the improvements he can make before the NBA Draft…
“I need to get better at everything. I need to get physically fit. I need to drop my weight down and make sure that my body fat is at a certain percentage. I have to evaluate my game and get that better. When I’m knocking down shots, I need to be more consistent and work on getting my perimeter game and post-up game on point.”
On being versatile at the next level and having to play multiple positions…
“I’m very versatile, and I definitely have to prepare for that. I’ll keep training for the next few weeks up until the draft combine. I have to work on everything and just use it to the best of my abilities.”
On what his monetary plans are in the future…
“I’m going to be really smart about it, investing and everything. I am going to make sure that my family is good. Those are the main things right now.”
On if there’s a specific team he would prefer to be drafted to…
“Whatever team that likes me. I’ll do the job knowing my role as a player on the team. I will just do whatever the coaches need me to do”
On if he has hired an agent…
“No, I haven’t hired an agent yet. We are still going through that process. Hopefully soon, we will get that done.”
On talking to current NBA players who went to LSU from Baton Rouge…
“I’ve built a good relationship with all of them. I talked to Garrett (Temple) the night before last. He and I had a conversation and talked. I talked with Marcus (Thornton) a few weeks ago. Those guys, they did a good job of coming in and talking with me just from me being here from Baton Rouge and going through the same process that they went through.”
On if fans tried to influence his decision…
“There are a lot of fans. When I was walking around on campus, a lot of students came up to me and asked me to stay. That played a big part in the decision and everything wanting to come back and stay for them, stay for this team and this program.”
On who he models his game after…
“I would say LaMarcus (Aldridge) just with his ability. He’s very versatile, and he can pop out and use his quickness. His has the ability to get to the rim on bigger guys.”
On what he believes next year’s team will be like without him…
“I feel like the team, they will do great. They will be good next year. They realized how important each game is this season. They are definitely going to come back stronger, work really hard during the offseason and get better as a team. When it comes around to the season time next year and when they are fired up, they are going to be great.”
On what it means to him to have his teammates at the announcement…
“It means a lot for them to be here right now for my announcement. It shows a lot about my teammates how much love they have for me and how much love I have for them. I definitely wish them the best as they further their careers here at LSU. I know they are going to be great, and they are going to go out there make a name for this program and bring it back up.”
HEAD COACH JOHNNY JONES
Opening statement…
“We were very blessed and fortunate that Jarell, coming out of high school, decided to further his education and his basketball career here in Baton Rouge. He’s from a great family and foundation. His mom, who is a tremendously hard worker, his sister and his family that he has been surrounded with has been very supportive of him. We are glad that this day has come for him. Jarell, through his hard work and attention to detail, is not only prepared physically but mentally as well. We were glad that he decided to come back after last year and continue to improve on his skills. He is certainly one of the vital reasons that we have had the success that we’ve had in this program over the last couple of years. It’s because of his services. We are certainly going to miss him, but we understand the position he has chosen. We are excited for him and his family. We look forward to not only the challenges but the success that he will certainly have at the next level. We know he is prepared, and he is ready for that next step.”
On the reports on NBA’s interest in Jarell Martin…
“The good thing about Jarell was that last year at this time, although there was speculation of him possibly putting his name in the draft, he never even came by and wanted an evaluation or wanted anything to send to the NBA to find out exactly where he was. Because of that, he understands the process that he is going through. There is so much more interest in him and his talent from this season compared to last season that we will certainly send the evaluation form out, just like we would for anyone else. From all indications, everyone has been so high and excited about the opportunity and where they think Jarell could possibly be drafted. It’s not really a concern for him, I don’t think, because of the interest shown in him this year.”
On where Jarell improved most between his freshman and sophomore seasons…
“I thought last year Jarell was put in a situation where he was playing primarily on the perimeter for us with Johnny O’Bryant III still here and Jordan (Mickey) playing primarily at the four. Jarell, as a freshman, had to wind up playing both spots. It was an injury riddled season for him, trying to come off of a high ankle sprain and trying to grasp everything that was thrown at him. As a freshman, I thought he did a tremendous job of it. This year, when we put him on the perimeter to start the season out, I thought he did a tremendous job from the start with his teammates and those guys sharing the ball and playing and feeding off of each other. Then, when we moved him inside as a primary post guy, I thought he did a great job of stretching the floor, which he will be doing in the NBA. I thought his ability to play on the perimeter helped him, and he excelled there at the four. I thought he was a tough matchup for anybody that we played in our league. One of the things that is questioned is how good of a post game and him playing inside, but we know from practice what he’s capable of doing. He didn’t have to explore much in games because it was to his advantage to stretch the floor against guys. His ball handling, his passing and his ability to shoot the ball has given us a great deal of comfort knowing what he is capable of doing at the next level.”
On feedback from NBA scouts and Jarell’s ability to be coached…
“I think they can visually see that he’s very coachable. He did a tremendous job. Jarell is one of those guys that is a self-starter. He works extremely hard. The two seasons I’ve had him here, I’ve never had to prod him or tell him to work harder. I’ve never had to tell him to come to the gym or come to the gym more to work on his individual skill work and try to get better. That’s something he took upon himself. I think when they see that, they know he’s on a mission and being good is important to him. He’s been very coachable. Any time you take a guy that has superstar status, he was a McDonald’s All-American and the number one player in the state. For him to buy in to everything, not some things, but everything we asked him to do without question certainly meant a great deal to us and allowed us to have the success we did because he was on a mission to do whatever he needed to do to win.”
On who Jarell Martin compares to in the NBA…
“It’s several guys. Jarell’s really versatile. Some guys look at him as a stretch-four, meaning that he is a pick-and-pop guy. They want to play him primarily on the perimeter, but he has an addition to his game that people are going to really be able to appreciate with his ability to get to the basket. He’s skilled enough to put the ball on the floor and finish the rim because of his athleticism. A lot of people are not gifted or talented enough to do that. It’s going to be different. His game is versatile. There are several guys in the league that I think you can appreciate doing what they do, but at 6-foot-10 and as talented as Jarell is, I think you are going to have an opportunity to see it. You’ll be surprised to see what he’s capable of doing at the next level as well.”