Tyrese Martin’s “athleticism”

[Kenny11]

Ok, this is not why we lost but this has been something very noticeable the entire season.

Tyrese Martin is a really bad leaper unless he has a wide open dunk. He gets his shot blocked so much mostly because he can’t elevate on his second jump. Also on his drives to the hoop he can barely get off the ground which forces him to throw up crazy scoop layups and other garbage that has no chance of going in.

he’s a very good rebounder but even most of those rebounds are due to his strength and tenacity, not his jumping. How can someone easily do 360 dunks when wide open but in any type of traffic has the vertical leap of Kara Walters?

 

[Huskybass]

Tyrese is an interesting player. 11 rebounds, but only 2 points yesterday. If he contributed even 8 points (about 2/3 of his season average) it would have been a very different game.

I love how hard Tyrese plays. Same with Jackson. Perhaps I am too optimistic, but I think we have a nice returning group to build around with Cole, Gaffney, Jackson, Martin, Akok, and Sanogo. To be really good, they all need to continue to develop, but we certainly have some nice building blocks.

 

[SubbaBub]

Martin is a valuable piece. If he can find one shot he can make reliably, he will be a very valuable piece. The thing to remember is that he is never the planned option on offense. Make layups, learn to get to the line, hit open spot up 3's. Any of these will take him to another level. The rest of his game is solid. We have other issues with players who will play more prominent roles.

 

[Deepster]

Tyrese is an interesting player. 11 rebounds, but only 2 points yesterday. If he contributed even 8 points (about 2/3 of his season average) it would have been a very different game.

I love how hard Tyrese plays. Same with Jackson. Perhaps I am too optimistic, but I think we have a nice returning group to build around with Cole, Gaffney, Jackson, Martin, Akok, and Sanogo. To be really good, they all need to continue to develop, but we certainly have some nice building blocks.

Of course we do. Anyone who feels otherwise is either spoiled or stupid or both.

 

[husky429]

He's a great athlete, just not a complete one. He has great strength, great hops, seems to have great hands getting on the boards.... he just has 0 body control and hand-eye coordination putting the ball in the hoop. Very predictable at the rim.

I think if we can get some really great ball movement and straight-line drives for him, his %s at the rim could improve greatly.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

He could feast off putbacks with how good an offensive rebounder he is...I imagine his postseason workouts will be something like 3-4 guys beating him with pool noodles as he tries to make a layup

 

[husky429]

He could feast off putbacks with how good an offensive rebounder he is...I imagine his postseason workouts will be something like 3-4 guys beating him with pool noodles as he tries to make a layup

Gotta get some Eat Pads ... I love these things. Let's EAT Sports

He needs to get the crap beat out of him with blocking pads by the assistants. I think we might actually have some though if I remember from practices last season.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Ok, this is not why we lost but this has been something very noticeable the entire season.

Tyrese Martin is a really bad leaper unless he has a wide open dunk. He gets his shot blocked so much mostly because he can’t elevate on his second jump. Also on his drives to the hoop he can barely get off the ground which forces him to throw up crazy scoop layups and other garbage that has no chance of going in.

he’s a very good rebounder but even most of those rebounds are due to his strength and tenacity, not his jumping. How can someone easily do 360 dunks when wide open but in any type of traffic has the vertical leap of Kara Walters?

He's 6'5" playing undersized inside b/c he's such a great athlete. Size is why he gets his shot blocked. He needs to learn to finish inside more creatively, yes getting back up quicker would help, but against longer defenders or equally good athletes like MD had that will only help so much. Is there still such a thing as big man camp?
Mostly though, UConn needs a 6'7"+ power forward to compete at the highest level in CBB. Martin is/was fine as a SF, but as his shot somehow left him at the end of the year and we were forced to play 2 guards with Bouknight at SF and Martin was playing undersized at the 4.

 

[Kenny11]

He's 6'5" playing undersized inside b/c he's such a great athlete. Size is why he gets his shot blocked. He needs to learn to finish inside more creatively, yes getting back up quicker would help, but against longer defenders or equally good athletes like MD had that will only help so much. Is there still such a thing as big man camp?
Mostly though, UConn needs a 6'7"+ power forward to compete at the highest level in CBB. Martin is/was fine as a SF, but as his shot somehow left him at the end of the year and we were forced to play 2 guards with Bouknight at SF and Martin was playing undersized at the 4.

He doesn’t get off the ground at all if someone is near him.

 

[Dogdeacon]

He doesn’t get off the ground at all if someone is near him.

How did he get all those offensive rebounds? With the ball yes, possible for a defender to take away his athleticism by bodying him up. So needs move or learn to attract the crowd and then dish out or to weak side.

 

[HuskyHawk]

He's a great athlete, just not a complete one. He has great strength, great hops, seems to have great hands getting on the boards.... he just has 0 body control and hand-eye coordination putting the ball in the hoop. Very predictable at the rim.

I think if we can get some really great ball movement and straight-line drives for him, his %s at the rim could improve greatly.

He leads with the ball. That’s fine for an open layup but not a contested one. As I said about Gilbert and Cole, he needs to watch some old Rob Gray footage to see how a guard can take contact while shielding the ball, then shoot with the space created by the contact. He should be great at it with his size and physicality.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

He's 6'5" playing undersized inside b/c he's such a great athlete. Size is why he gets his shot blocked. He needs to learn to finish inside more creatively, yes getting back up quicker would help, but against longer defenders or equally good athletes like MD had that will only help so much. Is there still such a thing as big man camp?
Mostly though, UConn needs a 6'7"+ power forward to compete at the highest level in CBB. Martin is/was fine as a SF, but as his shot somehow left him at the end of the year and we were forced to play 2 guards with Bouknight at SF and Martin was playing undersized at the 4.

Now I'm thinking of Adrien and how his senior year he came out with that elbow jumper that totally elevated his game...would be cool to see martin develop that as he's clearly at least a passable shooter in spurts

 

[jibsey]

Solid body, offensively not great. Would be good off bench if we had someone better starting.

 

[Storrs South]

What's surprising is he ended up shooting 32% for the year from 3, exactly what he did in 2 years at URI. Thought it was way worse.

When he is hitting his shots from the perimeter it really opens up his ability to drive since defenders can't sag off of him: the last 8 games of the season he was 1-17 from 3 (6%). Prior to that stretch he had been 45% from 3 on the season.

Coincidentally, those 8 games were all when Bouknight came back. Probably a correlation of not having the ball enough in his hands, how the offense was structured around JB instead of him & Cole or a regression to mean. I don't know but he needs to get at least to 35% from 3. It would help him get defenders off balance. And yes making a layup on occasion would do wonders. I am still bullish on his outlook for next year given the highs we saw this year.

 

[tentoes4rings]

My biggest problem with Martin right now was how much he popped off after the DePaul game and then laid rotten smelling eggs the two games afterwards. If you’re going to talk such a big game, be prepared to back it up, at least a little.

 

[husky429]

He leads with the ball. That’s fine for an open layup but not a contested one. As I said about Gilbert and Cole, he needs to watch some old Rob Gray footage to see how a guard can take contact while shielding the ball, then shoot with the space created by the contact. He should be great at it with his size and physicality.

Great way to describe it. He also seems to double clutch and throw the ball up from his waist for no reason at times. I think just telling him to be old school and catch high, keep it high, and go straight up without any funny business could work for him. Unlike say, someone like Gaff who has demonstrated some touch around the rim and maybe needs the green light to be more creative and aggressive

 

[wheelerdog]

I’m just going to repeat what I said in another thread. Where would we have been without him?

 

[Storrs South]

Great way to describe it. He also seems to double clutch and throw the ball up from his waist for no reason at times. I think just telling him to be old school and catch high, keep it high, and go straight up without any funny business could work for him. Unlike say, someone like Gaff who has demonstrated some touch around the rim and maybe needs the green light to be more creative and aggressive

Between last night and the Seton Hall game when Bouk was out as well as moments here and that scattered throughout the season, Gaff is a player, just needs the green light and assertiveness, which seems to only come when everyone else gives up. Shot is still a little iffy, but the form is good. His ability to be creative and finish at the rim is excellent.

I think it's clear that Cole & Gaff are more 2 guards than a 1. Diggins could really be the key to unlocking both of them along with Hawkins as consistent performers.

 

[UCTitleTown]

There are different kind of jumpers. Jumping with a running start and fast-twitch vertical from a standing position are two different things. Being able to get off your feet from a standing position quickly over and over is definitely a special physical talent, but with today's kinesiology can be improved with a training program.

 

[selles]

Great way to describe it. He also seems to double clutch and throw the ball up from his waist for no reason at times. I think just telling him to be old school and catch high, keep it high, and go straight up without any funny business could work for him. Unlike say, someone like Gaff who has demonstrated some touch around the rim and maybe needs the green light to be more creative and aggressive

I agree. It's his style that kills him, not his athleticism. He shoots a layup like a jumpshot: hanging in the air, shooting with two hands, and aiming the ball. Doesn't work for a guy his height.

 

[SubbaBub]

My biggest problem with Martin right now was how much he popped off after the DePaul game and then laid rotten smelling eggs the two games afterwards. If you’re going to talk such a big game, be prepared to back it up, at least a little.

Meh, did you see Patrick Ewing?

 

[FlyChigga]

He's a great athlete, just not a complete one. He has great strength, great hops, seems to have great hands getting on the boards.... he just has 0 body control and hand-eye coordination putting the ball in the hoop. Very predictable at the rim.

I think if we can get some really great ball movement and straight-line drives for him, his %s at the rim could improve greatly.

He can't jump in traffic though that's the problem, he only has great hops on wide open fastbreaks.

 

[Dove]

"bad leaper"...what the frick!?!?

 

[ZenConn]

He could feast off putbacks with how good an offensive rebounder he is...I imagine his postseason workouts will be something like 3-4 guys beating him with pool noodles as he tries to make a layup

Not pool noodles. 2x4's. And tell him to try to dunk everything.

 

[3rdbass]

He can't jump in traffic though that's the problem, he only has great hops on wide open fastbreaks.

I don't think jumping in traffic is his issues shown by his rebounds against bigger guys. That dude can jump. The problem is he brings the ball down when he does those one handed layups. I think he tries to hang to long in the air when he should be going up strong and using his body.