Darrick Martin
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Darrick David Martin (born March 6, 1971 in Denver, Colorado but raised in Long Beach, California) is an American veteran basketball player, currently with the NBA's Toronto Raptors. Martin has became known as a solid veteran who provided quality minutes as a reserve, maintaining a career free throw percentage of 85%. In each of two December 1996 games, he sank 15 of 15 foul shots, posting a career-high 38 points in the latter.
Martin's more than decade long professional career has bounced between the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and the NBA and in 2003 he even played for the Harlem Globetrotters.
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[edit] High School Honors & Collegiate History
As a senior at St. Anthony High School, Martin was a Parade First-Team All-American and named to the McDonald's High School All-American team.
Martin received a full scholarship from UCLA and played on a Bruins squad with future NBA players Don MacLean, Tracy Murray and Mitchell Butler. As a quick point guard, he completed his college career at UCLA in 1992 ranked first in school history in both assists (636) and steals (179). His career assists total placed him fourth on the Pacific Ten Conference's all-time list. Darrick averaged 9.3 points and 4.9 assists in his four years at UCLA. As a junior, he averaged a career-high 11.6 points and 6.8 assists, and his assists average was the best in the Pac-10 and the 16th highest in the country. His single-season high of 217 assists was second all-time at UCLA to Jerome "Pooh" Richardson's 236.
[edit] Pre-NBA career
The 5'11" point guard was not drafted by an NBA franchise and instead played for the CBA's Sioux Falls Skyforce, (where he was the league's 10th leading scorer with 21 points per game) prior to signing two consecutive 10-day contracts with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves in February 1995. He returned to the Timberwolves for the 2003-04 NBA season as a backup for Sam Cassell after Troy Hudson was injured.
[edit] Vancouver Grizzlies
At the beginning of the 1995-96 NBA season he signed with the Vancouver Grizzlies as a free agent, but the Grizzlies traded him back to the Timberwolves two months later, in exchange for a second-round draft pick. His scoring average in these first two seasons remained at about seven points per game.
[edit] Los Angeles Clippers
Martin signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in 1996 and remained with them for three seasons, averaging ten points per game in (and playing all 82 games of) the first two of them.
He returned to the Clippers in the 2004-05 season and averaged 3.8 PPG.
[edit] Sacramento Kings
Martin's contract expired once again after the lockout-shortened 1999 season, and he signed with Sacramento Kings where he would spend the next two years. Late in the Kings' 130-109 win over the Dallas Mavericks on March 6, 2000, Martin came off the bench to score 11 points in only two minutes.
[edit] Toronto Raptors
Martin signed with the Toronto Raptors for the 2005-06 season. In his first year with the club he posted 2.6 PPG and 1.4 APG in 8.5 MPG of play. During 2006-07 (as of January 11th) he is averaging 5.4 PPG and 2.1 APG in 10.6 MPG (though he does not play the majority of games). Martin's primary role with the Raptors, according to head coach Sam Mitchell, is to provide guidance to the younger players on the team such as point guards T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon. He is currently the Raptors third - string point guard.
[edit] External links
Categories: 1971 births | Living people | African American basketball players | American basketball players | UCLA Bruins men's basketball players | Dallas Mavericks players | Los Angeles Clippers players | Minnesota Timberwolves players | National Basketball Association players under six feet | Sacramento Kings players | Toronto Raptors players | Vancouver Grizzlies players | McDonald's High School All-Americans | Harlem Globetrotters | Sioux Falls Skyforce players
