As the Wolves prepare for 2019 Summer League, let’s get to know the players who will be on the roster in Vegas.
What’s His Name?
Kelan Martin
Where Is He From?
Martin, 23, grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, where he won a high school championship with Ballard before attending Butler for college ball.
Here are three things you might not know about Louisville:
- A lot of famous people and things are from Louisville. For instance, Muhammad Ali, the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Fried Chicken and UPS.
- Louisville hosts the largest Beatles festival in the world—Abbey Road on the River. The festival lasts for five days! However, none of the Beatles are from Louisville.
- The city is big into the shipping and cargo industries. Because of its strategic location it’s a great place from which to access the rest of the South.
Where Have You Heard Of Him Before?
Butler made the NCAA tournament in each of Martin’s years with the team and got to the Sweet Sixteen in 2017. Martin was a staple of those teams, averaging over 15 points per game every year except his freshman year and leading the team with 21.2 points per game his senior year. He also played Summer League with the Jazz last season.
Describe Him To Us
Martin developed over the course of his time at Butler into a player capable of leading a good college team in scoring. He is crafty getting into the lane and he’s very strong. He doesn’t have great quickness or speed but he knows his game and has developed a nice pull-up game. Martin is also a good three-point shooter. He has many of the tools necessary to succeed as a forward in the NBA.
With a wingspan of over seven feet and good size at 6’7, Martin has the ability to become a good NBA defender. However, he has yet to show himself to be a high-level stopper as you would hope he would be given his physicality. He’s not freakishly athletic either which is an issue in the NBA as forwards more and more are trending towards above-the-rim players who can finish over even the biggest interior defenders.
Martin’s path to a role in the NBA is probably contingent on his shooting continuing to improve and his developing a better floor game to make plays for teammates. He’s one of those players that needs to change their main skill in order to make the most of his opportunities. That’s a tough ask for a player who has been a go-to scorer for much of his career but Summer League is a good place to start that work.