Runnin' With The Racers Podcast - Jeff Martin - Murray State University Athletics

Murray State hall of famer, Jeff Martin still stands today as the all-time scoring leader for Murray State men's basketball. The face of the Racer Basketball program when his career burned bright from 1985-89, Martin was one of the big reasons the Racers notched their first NCAA Tournament victory in 1988 over North Carolina State.

The two-time Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year is this week's guest on episode 89 of the Runnin' with the Racers Podcast on goracers.com.

Humble Beginnings in Cherry Valley, Arkansas
Martin grew up in small town Arkansas, in a little spot in the northeast corner of the state called Cherry Valley. It still has less than 1,000 people living in it in 2020.

Parents Willie and Naomi had four athletic children, Jeff, Wayne, Larry and Diane and they racked up wins and records during the early 1980's for the Cross County High School Thunderbirds. Jeff and his brother Wayne, did special things in football, basketball and baseball. Wayne played football at Arkansas and then had an 11-year NFL career with the New Orleans Saints. Diane played basketball at Arkansas State.

"Wayne and I grew up playing all sports against each other," said Martin from his home in Katy, Texas. "By the time we got to high school, we just beat up on everyone else, instead of each other. Our football team won state my senior year, I think we lost just a few games in three seasons.

"I had been All-State (basketball) as a junior and senior," Martin said. "My recruiting was small scale, nothing big, just some NAIA schools. I actually did visit Central Arkansas where Scottie Pippen played."

Long before Isaiah Canaan, Cameron Payne and Ja Morant seemingly came out of nowhere to be stars at Murray State, Jeff Martin was one of the original diamonds in the rough. MSU head coach Steve Newton gave Martin his only full scholarship offer from a NCAA D-I school.

"I was in school one day and my coach said 'hey, a coach from Murray State is here'. I didn't even have any workout clothes, I was in jeans and still went out and did some shooting for Coach Mike Dill (MSU assistant). I went to Murray for a visit, met with Coach Newton and that was really the only D-I team that offered me a scholarship. I thought that this was the place for me."

The Murray State Days
Martin scored a modest 11.7 points per game as a freshman where he was the third scoring option behind Chuck Glass and Zedric Macklin. As a sophomore in the 1986-87 season, Martin gave Ohio Valley Conference opponents notice that greatness was residing at Racer Arena for the next three seasons. Martin averaged 21.2 points per game and hit 15 long shots in the first season the NCAA allowed the 3-pointer. As a junior (1987-88) he became the seventh player in OVC history to score 800 points in a single season with 806 points, a Murray State record. That mark stood 32 seasons until Ja Morant topped it in the 2018-19 season with 808.

Martin went into his senior season (1988-89) needing 290 points to catch Howie Crittenden, who scored 2,019 points from 1952-55. Martin topped Crittenden's 32-year-old record and was OVC player of the year for the second time with a scoring average of 25.7. Martin passed Crittenden in a game at Austin Peay (01-04-2020).

Still today, Martin's 2,484 points is the best among all NCAA D-I teams in Kentucky. His total tops Louisville's Darrell Griffith (2,333 points from 1977-80), Morehead State's Ricky Minard (2,381 from 2001-04), Nick Mayo of Eastern Kentucky (2,316 points from 2016-19), Jim McDaniels of Western Kentucky (2,238 points from 1969-71), Dan Issel of Kentucky (2,138 points from 1968-70) and Northern Kentucky's Drew McDonald (2,066 points from 2016-19).

"I came in at about 175 pounds and that freshman year I gained about 15 pounds," Martin recalled. "Myself and Don Mann (MSU Hall of Famer and former MSU all-time assist leader) were looked as the leaders of the team in our second year and from that point on, the sophomore year made me realize that we had to lead the team. We had great success. They say records are meant to broken and I am surprised it hasn't been broken with all the great players that have come through Murray State since."

Jeff Martin is third all-time in OVC scoring, behind Henry Domercant of Eastern Illinois (2,602 points from 1999-03) and Akron's Joe Jakubick (2,583 points from 1980-84).

One Shining Moment – 1988 NCAA Tournament
After winning the OVC Tournament at home gaining revenge over APSU, the Racers were sent to Lincoln, Nebraska for the 1988 NCAA Tournament. The game marked MSU's first trip to the Big Dance since 1969 and by the time the night was finished, the Racers had their first NCAA win.

Not bad for a bunch of no-names that didn't get to stay in a hotel in Lincoln, they stayed in a dormitory on the Nebraska campus. One media outlet said the Racers had a one in 250,000 chance to upset North Carolina State. The final was 78-75 Racers.

"Coach Newton kept us relaxed, and he down played us especially in the media," Martin said. "However, we weren't planning on losing and we thought we could win. That was a great victory for Murray State and us. That was a high quality team and a high quality coach (Jim Valvano). I think after we beat NC State, they bumped us up to the Sheraton! I guess we gained a little credit!"

Two nights later, the Racers faced the mighty Kanas Jayhawks, who went on to win the National Championship and their game with Murray State was their closest win on the way to the title. Coach Newton's team erased a 12-point deficit I the first half and had the ball on the final possession, but lost 61-58 when a last-second shot by Don Mann fell short.

"I remember that play. Don was trying to create something and I was in the short corner and Carl Sias was coming down from the top of the key and Donnie had a good look at the basket in the lane, but he missed it. That was a tough loss, because never once did we think we couldn't win that game. When we came back home, that's when I realized how big of a thing it was. When you saw all of the support from the people in Murray, you realized that we just did something big."

Since Martin helped the Racers to the NCAA Tournament win in 1988, MSU has won three more times. In 2010, Danero Thomas hit "The Shot" to upset Vanderbilt and in 2012, Isaiah Canaan led the Racers past Colorado State. MSU's latest NCAA win came in 2019 with Ja Morant getting a Triple-Double in a Racer win over Marquette.

Professional Pride
Jeff Martin was selected by the LA Clippers in the NBA Draft second round and played two seasons (1989-91) where he appeared in 143 games with a 6.7 points per game average. Even though his time in the NBA was short, it gave Martin the confidence to keep on playing. Over the next 10 years, he carved out a successful career in Europe, mostly with pro teams in Spain.

"I was excited to go as the 31^st pick, that was a big deal for me, especially because by brother got drafted in the NFL the same year," Martin said. "It was a big deal back in Cherry Valley, two brothers going to play pro."

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Runnin' With The Racers Podcast - Jeff Martin

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