Kevin Martin's Career Bio in PDF Format
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June 24, 2004
Cullowhee, N.C. -
Western Carolina guard Kevin Martin, who just completed his junior season with the Catamounts, was picked in the first round of the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft by the Sacramento Kings, going as the 26th pick overall.
Martin becomes the first ever Catamount to be drafted in the first round of either the NBA, National Football League (NFL) or Major League Baseball (MLB). Also, Martin is just the second Southern Conference player to be drafted in the first round over the past 39 years as Chattanooga's Johnny Taylor was taken by the Orlando Magic (17th overall pick) in 1997. Other SoCon players to be NBA first round picks include Davidson's Fred Hetzel (Davidson, 1965), West Virginia's Rod Thorn (1963), West Virginia's Jerry West (1960), West Virginia's Rod Hundley (1957), George Washington's Joe Holup (1956), Maryland's Gene Shue (1954), Furman's Frank Selvy (1954), Duke's Dick Groat (1952) and West Virginia's Mark Workman (1952).
The last Catamount to be drafted by the NBA was two-time SoCon Player of the Year Frankie King, who was a second-round selection of the Los Angeles Lakers and the 37th overall pick in the 1995 draft.
(Note: Henry Logan was a top pick of the Oakland Oaks of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1968. He was drafted in the fourth round and was the 38th pick overall in the NBA draft that same year, but signed and played for the Oaks. Also, even though Mel Gibson was a second-round pick of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, he is the highest Catamount ever picked in the NBA, MLB or NFL, going as the 17th overall pick.)
"This is a great day for Kevin Martin, Western Carolina University, the Catamount basketball program and the Southern Conference," said WCU head coach Steve Shurina. "Kevin has proven that you do not have to play at one of the 'power' conferences to play in the NBA. I said over and over that Kevin would be a first round pick. But would the NBA be ready for Kevin? Kevin had a gut feeling they were and I am very excited for him."
This past season, Martin ranked second nationally in scoring and won his second straight Southern Conference scoring title with a 24.9 points per game average. He ranked 11th nationally in scoring as a freshman (22.1 ppg) and 10th nationally as a sophomore (22.8 ppg). Martin, who ranked either first or second in the NCAA in scoring all season, is a three-time, first team All-Southern Conference pick and, this past season, he was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District teams.
A native of Zanesville, Ohio, Martin scored 1,838 points through three seasons at Western. His total ranks fourth on the WCU all-time list, while ranking as the Catamounts' leading scorer since the school joined the NCAA Division I ranks for the 1976-77 season. Western Carolina's all-time top three scorers include Henry Logan (3,290 points from 1965-68), Mel Gibson (2,021 points from 1960-63) and Ronald Rogers (1,960 points from 1950-53).
Martin also ranks among the WCU career leaders in 3-pointers made (third with 174), 3-pointers attempted (third with 503), free throws made (third with 534) and steals (ninth with 134). While he still has one more year of eligibility, his career scoring average of 23.3 currently ranks third and his 84.1 career free throw percentage currently ranks second.
On the WCU single-season lists, his 673 points in 2003-04 ranks ninth, his 24.9 2003-04 season scoring average ranks eighth and his 206 free throws made in 2003-04 ranks sixth.
Western Carolina University in the NBA Draft
Year Player NBA Team Round Overall Pick
1963 Mel Gibson Los Angeles Lakers 2 17
1964 Tommy Lavelle New York Knicks 6 46
1968 Henry Logan * Seattle Super Sonics 4 38
1969 Greg Wittman Seattle Super Sonics 7 88
1971 Paul Litz Phoenix Suns 11 179
1978 Thomas "Bubba" Wilson Golden State Warriors 5 101
1983 Ronnie Carr Atlanta Hawks 10 216
1995 Frankie King Los Angeles Lakers 2 37
2004 Kevin Martin Sacramento Kings 1 26
* - In 1968, Henry Logan, who was the first guard taken in the 1968 ABA draft, was drafted in the first round by and played for the Oakland Oaks, which became the Washington Capitols and later the Virginia Squires.
All-Time SoCon First Round NBA Draft Picks
Year Player (SoCon School) NBA Team Round Overall Pick
1952 Mark Workman (West Virginia) Milwaukee Hawks 1 1
1952 Dick Groat (Duke) Fort Wayne Pistons 1 3
1954 Frank Selvy (Furman) Baltimore Bullets 1 1
1954 Gene Shue (Maryland) Philadelphia Warriors 1 3
1956 Joe Holup (Georgia Washington) Syracuse Nationals 1 5
1957 Rod Hundley (West Virginia) Cincinnati Royals 1 1
1960 Jerry West (West Virginia) Minneapolis Lakers 1 2
1963 Rod Thorn (West Virginia) Baltimore Bullets 1 2
1965 Fred Hetzel (Davidson) San Francisco 1 1
1997 Johnny Taylor (Chattanooga) Orlando Magic 1 17
2004 Kevin Martin (Western Carolina) Sacramento Kings 1 26
