NCAA Feat With Jayhawks To Boost Fil-Am Prospect's Stock In NBA Draft

The Kansas Jayhawks pulled off a historic 15-point comeback against the North Carolina Tar Heels to claim their fourth NCAA men’s basketball title, and a senior guard may be the biggest beneficiary of the win.

Filipino-American skipper Remy Martin kicked off his college basketball career with the Arizona State Sun Devils nearly five years ago after attending Sierra Canyon School.

Basketball fans started noticing the hype around Martin was for real when he burst onto the scene in his third year, putting up averages of 19.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.5 steals in 33.8 minutes.

The 23-year-old would then declare his intentions to enter the 2020 NBA draft but later withdrew his application to return to the Sun Devils for his fourth NCAA season.

Martin’s rebounding and assist numbers would dip a little bit in the 2020-21 season and would eventually lead him to transfer to the Jayhawks.

Already a starting-caliber point guard in Arizona, Martin was only selected to the starting five 13 times this season as Kansas coach Bill Self opted to have him in a sixth-man role in order to maximize his capabilities against the opposing teams’ bench.

Martin thrived in his lone year with the Jayhawks despite the putting up lower numbers across the board.

However, his field goal percentage actually went up to 46.2, a 2.9 increase from the previous season, and his value to the team was made evident when he helped architect the comeback for the Jayhawks.

The NBA prospect started the championship game off the bench, but his 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc would go on to lead all bench players.

Whether shooting the ball from deep, midrange, or taking his defender straight to the hoop, Martin has a scorer’s mindset and defenders will be forced to pick him up from halfcourt in an attempt to stop him.

Even before he moved to Kansas, Martin has been on the radar of NBA scouts and also his fans back home in the Philippines.

College basketball writer Brian Bennett noted that there was not much left Martin could do in college other than to go deep in the NCAA tournament and prove he has what it takes to make it in the NBA.

Martin's outside shot will definitely need work as he is a career 34.2% shooter from outside, and his height of six-foot-flat may have scouts looking the other way.

However, Martin proved that he is willing to take on all challenges and went on to attest just how good he was when the lights were at their brightest.

Should he be drafted to the NBA, he will be joining both Jordan Clarkson and Jalen Green as the only Fil-Ams playing in the league, making it a cause for celebration among Filipino fans.