He owns decent college-level skills but flashy Fil-American guard Remy Martin, who is bypassing his final year of NCAA eligibility, will be left untouched in the 2020 NBA draft that is slated for June 25 but is likely to be postponed to a later date because of the uncertainty in league activities due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Only 60 players are to be chosen in the college/international grab-bag that is considered the weakest since 2013.
Martin, whose mom (Mary Ann Macaspac) reportedly comes from Pampanga, is a 6-foot, 120-pound shoot-first, pass-second point guard from Arizona State University, where he has played with the Sun Devils for the past three seasons.
Martin, relatively small and light by American pro standards, has improved his scoring in each of three seasons with the Pacific-12 Conference School, capping it with a team-high 19.1-point average (along with 4.1 assists and 1 5 steals, both team bests, and 3 1 rebounds) and a first-team All-Pac-12 Conference selection in 2019-20 that cut short ASU’s quest for a third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance with the cancellation of the 68-school, three-week national competitions.
Arizona State finished with a 20-11 record. It wound up in a third-place tie with University of Southern California behind Oregon and UCLA in Pac-12 regular play. In the conference tourney, the Sun Devils upset the UCLA Bruins in the quarterfinals but were beaten by the Oregon Ducks in the semifinals.
Arizona State was expected to receive an invite to the NCAA tournament as a wild-card entry.
Martin posted a pair of 30-point games this past campaign – 33 vs. Princeton in November and 30 vs UCLA in February.
He has a decent three-point shot (.338 FGA) but his overall efficiency on offense is questionable at a frigid. 432 clip.
The NBA draft is the weakest in seven years but it is deep in point guards. And this could work against Martin, who turns a ripe 22 years old on June 16.
Martin is not among the top 100 prospects in mock drafts by ESPN, CBS and Sports Illustrated and failed to even secure an Associated Press Honorable Mention this past campaign. In contrast, Oregon’s Payton Pritchard, who beat out Martin for Pacific-12 Conference Player of the Year honors, was a 2020 first-team AP American and yet the 6-2, 206-pounder ranked only No. 52 overall in ESPN’s list of draft prospects, and 19th at his point guard position.
Another top-flight playmaker, 6-3, 185-pound Tre Jones of Duke University, was a third-team All-America pick but was ranked only No. 33 overall by ESPN and 12th at his position.
Since he has not signed up with a sports agent, Martin could still retain his fourth and final year of collegiate eligibility if he decides to withdraw before a deadline determined by the NCAA.
Martin, also a product of Sierra Canyon School in California in high school, has the go-signal of his coach Bobby Hurley, a former playmaker at Duke University and in the NBA, to join the draft. He probably wanted to test the waters and find out where his stock is following evaluations from pro scouts.
Still, he is not among the top 100 prospects in mock drafts by ESPN, CBS and Sports Illustrated.
If Martin goes undrafted, he could try his luck in NBA free-agent camps or seek apprenticeship in the G-League. He could also join the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) then look for an NBA job when the Chinese pro circuit ends next March.
Flamboyant that he is, Martin could be a crowd-drawer in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is definitely more skilled than some of the local point guards at the moment.
For sure, however, Martin is nowhere at the level of one-time national teamer (2018 Asian Games) and Utah Jazz combo guard Jordan Clarkson, who is in the final year of his NBA contract.