Cullowhee, N.C. – Enshrined into the Western Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019, former Catamount men's basketball standout Kevin Martin will see his No. 32 jersey honored and raised to the rafters in the Ramsey Center this winter, announced today by WCU Director of Athletics Alex Gary.
 
The special on-court ceremony and surrounding festivities will take place on Saturday, Dec. 9, during the front end of the Catamount basketball men's and women's doubleheader against mountain-rival UNC Asheville on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The men's game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. tip-off with the women's game to follow at 7 p.m.
 
"Kevin Martin's combined collegiate and professional career athletic achievements sit at the top of a long list of all-time Catamount greats," said WCU Director of Athletics Alex Gary. "We are honored to appropriately recognize him by displaying his jersey in the rafters of the Ramsey Center."
 
Martin is cemented as one of the most successful and most recognizable former Catamounts. His number will be the fourth honored from WCU men's basketball. Martin's No. 32 will be displayed alongside former men's basketball greats Ronald Rogers (#15, 1949-53), Henry Logan (#10, 1964-68), and Mel Gibson (#20, 1959-63), along with one from Catamount women's basketball history in Jayne Arledge (#25, 1976-79).
 
Signed in late April 2001 after garnering second-team All-Ohio plaudits as a high school senior – and finishing fourth in the voting for Ohio Mr. Basketball – out of Zanesville, Ohio, the silky-smooth almost effortless playing style of Kevin Martin became synonymous with Catamount basketball over the next three seasons. He averaged over 20 points per game for three consecutive years before becoming WCU's first first-round draft pick in any of the major professional ranks including NBA, NFL, or MLB.
 
A three-time All-Southern Conference selection including twice named to the first-team, Martin finished his three seasons in the Purple & Gold third in the program's record books and currently ranks fourth all-time with 1,838 career points. He continues to rank among WCU's career leaders in 3-pointers made (8th, 174), 3-pointers attempted (7th, 503), free throws made (3rd, 534), free throws attempted (3rd, 635), free throw percentage (2nd, .841), steals (12th, 134), and overall scoring average (3rd-t, 23.3 ppg).
 
Martin led the Catamounts with a 22.1 point per game average as a true freshman, collecting Freshman All-America accolades as well as All-Freshman honors from CollegeInsider.com. Along the way, he set a WCU record by making 42 consecutive free throws while ranking second in the SoCon – and 11th nationally – in seasonal scoring average. As an encore in his sophomore season, Martin paced the SoCon in scoring and ranked 10th nationally at 22.8 points per game.
 
In his junior season, Martin was the only non-ACC member to be named to the 10-player All-District teams by both the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) as he led the SoCon with a 24.9 point per game average, a mark that ranked him second overall in the nation.
 
Martin was selected to the Southern Conference 100th Anniversary Team in 2021.
 
Martin was drafted in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft with the 26th overall pick – and the 14th college player selected overall – by the Sacramento Kings, playing for the franchise from 2004 until 2010. He then spent two seasons with the Houston Rockets (2010-2012), a year with the Oklahoma City Thunder (2012-13), and three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves (2013-16) before concluding his 12-year playing career with the San Antonio Spurs (2016), last playing in the 2016 NBA Playoffs.

He ultimately announced his retirement from the Association on Nov. 24, 2016, through a full-page ad in his hometown newspaper, the Zanesville Times Recorder.
 
During his professional playing career, Martin was regarded as one of the game's most dangerous shooting threats, especially from distance. The wiry guard shot 38.4 percent from beyond the 3-point arc for his career. Concluding his career with 12,396 career points, Martin averaged 17.4 points per game collectively including averaging 20 or more points per game six times including a career-best 24.6 points per game in 2008-09 with Sacramento. He connected on 43.7 percent of his field-goal attempts while finishing as a career 87 percent free-throw shooter, twice eclipsing the 90 percent shooting mark in a single season.
 
The son of Marilyn and Kevin, Kevin is married to the former Jill Arnold, wed in a ceremony in Florida in July 2011. The couple has two daughters, Anna Capri and Savannah Rose. Kevin has a brother, Jonathan, and grandparents, Maxine and the late Dallas Martin, Teena and Stanley Vigus, and the late John Norris.
 
Western Carolina (4-0) returns to the friendly confines of Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Sunday, Nov. 26, hosting North Alabama (3-2) with a 4 p.m. tip-off. The Lions dropped a 105-103 double-overtime affair at UT Martin on Wednesday (Nov. 22) afternoon. The Lions were picked seventh in both the coaches and media poll in the 12-team ASUN conference with Jacari Lane earning preseason All-ASUN plaudits.
 
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