Darrick Martin
Encyclopedia
Darrick David Martin (born March 6, 1971 in Denver
, Colorado
, United States
) is an American
retired professional basketball
player. Martin's more than decade-long professional career bounced between the Continental Basketball Association
(CBA), where he won the 2003 CBA Playoffs MVP, and the NBA. In 2003 he even played for the Harlem Globetrotters
. He then went on to play for the Los Angeles Lightning of the International Basketball League (IBL). In November 2009, Martin returned to his first NBA team, the Minnesota Timberwolves
, as the Assistant Director of Player Development.
, Martin was a Parade
First-Team All-American and named to the McDonald's High School All-American
team.
Martin received a full scholarship from UCLA
and played on a Bruins squad with future NBA players Don MacLean
, Tracy Murray
and Mitchell Butler
. As a quick point guard, he completed his college career at UCLA in 1992 ranked first in school history in both assists (636) and steals (179). His career assists total placed him fourth on the Pacific Ten Conference
's all-time list. Darrick averaged 9.3 points and 4.9 assists in his four years at UCLA. As a junior, he averaged a career-high 11.6 points and 6.8 assists, and his assists average was the best in the Pac-10
and the 16th highest in the country. His single-season high of 217 assists was second all-time at UCLA to Jerome "Pooh" Richardson
's 236.
was not drafted by an NBA franchise and instead played for the CBA
's Sioux Falls Skyforce
, (where he was the league's 10th leading scorer with 21 points per game) prior to signing two consecutive 10-day contracts with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves
in February 1995. He returned to the Timberwolves for the 2003–04 NBA season as a backup for Sam Cassell
after Troy Hudson
was injured.
as a free agent
, but the Grizzlies traded him back to the Timberwolves two months later, in exchange for a second-round draft pick. His scoring average in these first two seasons remained at about seven points per game.
in 1996 and remained with them for three seasons, averaging ten points per game in (and playing all 82 games of) the first two of them.
He returned to the Clippers in the 2004–05 season
and averaged 3.8 PPG.
-shortened 1999 season
, and he signed with Sacramento Kings
where he would spend the next two years. Late in the Kings' 130–109 win over the Dallas Mavericks
on March 6, 2000, Martin came off the bench to score 11 points in only two minutes. He was given the nickname "The Domino" by his teammates.
for the 2005–06 season
. In his first year with the club he posted 2.6 ppg and 1.4 apg in 8.5 mpg of play. Martin's primary role with the Raptors, according to head coach Sam Mitchell
, was to provide guidance to the younger players on the team such as point guards T. J. Ford
and José Calderón
.
Darrick's most notable moment in a Raptors uniform was a 3-pointer against the Dallas Mavericks on November 29, 2006. With over a second remaining in regulation, and the Raptors trailing by 22 points, Martin hoisted up a 3-point shot uncontested and successfully sunk the shot. With the Raptors NBA record consecutive game streak with a 3-pointer on the verge of ending, Martin's shot enabled the Raptors to extend the streak which ended January 24, 2011. After two and a half seasons with Toronto, Martin was waived on March 27, 2008, to open up a spot on the roster for Linton Johnson
. Though waived by the Raptors, Martin stayed with the team as an informal assistant coach/consultant.
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
retired professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player. Martin's more than decade-long professional career bounced between the Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
(CBA), where he won the 2003 CBA Playoffs MVP, and the NBA. In 2003 he even played for the Harlem Globetrotters
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
. He then went on to play for the Los Angeles Lightning of the International Basketball League (IBL). In November 2009, Martin returned to his first NBA team, the Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...
, as the Assistant Director of Player Development.
High school honors and collegiate history
As a senior at St. Anthony High SchoolSt. Anthony High School (California)
St. Anthony High School, commonly referred to as SA, is a private, Roman Catholic high school located in the downtown area of Long Beach, California. As of the 2010-2011 school year, the school had 375 students enrolled in grades 9 through 12. It is served by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los...
, Martin was a Parade
Parade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
First-Team All-American and named to the McDonald's High School All-American
McDonald's All-American Team
The McDonald's All-American Game refers to each of the all-star basketball games played each year for boys' and girls' high-school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top American and Canadian players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the high-school basketball...
team.
Martin received a full scholarship from UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
and played on a Bruins squad with future NBA players Don MacLean
Don MacLean (basketball)
Donald James MacLean is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. As a college player, he holds the distinction of being the all-time scoring leader of both the Pac-10 Conference and UCLA, although Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would have most likely attained both of those records had...
, Tracy Murray
Tracy Murray
Tracy Lamonte Murray is a retired American professional basketball player who played for six different NBA franchises and two Greek clubs, with a final stint in France...
and Mitchell Butler
Mitchell Butler
Mitchell Leon Butler is a retired American professional basketball player most notable for playing in the NBA from 1993 to 2004....
. As a quick point guard, he completed his college career at UCLA in 1992 ranked first in school history in both assists (636) and steals (179). His career assists total placed him fourth on the Pacific Ten Conference
Pacific Ten Conference
The Pacific-12 Conference is a college athletic conference that operates in the Western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition...
's all-time list. Darrick averaged 9.3 points and 4.9 assists in his four years at UCLA. As a junior, he averaged a career-high 11.6 points and 6.8 assists, and his assists average was the best in the Pac-10
Pacific Ten Conference
The Pacific-12 Conference is a college athletic conference that operates in the Western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition...
and the 16th highest in the country. His single-season high of 217 assists was second all-time at UCLA to Jerome "Pooh" Richardson
Pooh Richardson
Jerome "Pooh" Richardson is an American former National Basketball Association player. he was selected in the first round of the 1989 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, their first draft pick in franchise history...
's 236.
Pre-NBA career
The 5'11" point guardPoint guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
was not drafted by an NBA franchise and instead played for the CBA
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
's Sioux Falls Skyforce
Sioux Falls Skyforce
The Sioux Falls Skyforce is a professional basketball team that plays in the NBA Development League. They are based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The team plays at the Sioux Falls Arena. The Skyforce began in the CBA in 1989...
, (where he was the league's 10th leading scorer with 21 points per game) prior to signing two consecutive 10-day contracts with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...
in February 1995. He returned to the Timberwolves for the 2003–04 NBA season as a backup for Sam Cassell
Sam Cassell
Samuel James "Sam" Cassell , is a retired American professional basketball player who is an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards. The , point guard was selected out of Florida State University by the Houston Rockets with the 24th overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft...
after Troy Hudson
Troy Hudson
Troy Hudson is a former American professional basketball player at the point guard position.-Basketball career:After a college career at the University of Missouri and Southern Illinois University that finished in his junior year,Hudson was not selected in the 1997 NBA draft, and played his first...
was injured.
Vancouver Grizzlies
At the beginning of the 1995–96 NBA season he signed with the Vancouver GrizzliesMemphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...
as a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
, but the Grizzlies traded him back to the Timberwolves two months later, in exchange for a second-round draft pick. His scoring average in these first two seasons remained at about seven points per game.
Los Angeles Clippers
Martin signed with the Los Angeles ClippersLos Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
in 1996 and remained with them for three seasons, averaging ten points per game in (and playing all 82 games of) the first two of them.
He returned to the Clippers in the 2004–05 season
2004-05 NBA season
The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association . It began on November 2, 2004 and ended June 23, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating defending champion Detroit Pistons 4–3 in the NBA Finals....
and averaged 3.8 PPG.
Sacramento Kings
Martin's contract expired once again after the lockoutLockout (industry)
A lockout is a work stoppage in which an employer prevents employees from working. This is different from a strike, in which employees refuse to work.- Causes :...
-shortened 1999 season
1998-99 NBA season
The 1999 NBA season was the 53rd season of the National Basketball Association . Due to a lockout, the season did not start until February 5, 1999 after a new six year Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association...
, and he signed with Sacramento Kings
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
where he would spend the next two years. Late in the Kings' 130–109 win over the Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
on March 6, 2000, Martin came off the bench to score 11 points in only two minutes. He was given the nickname "The Domino" by his teammates.
Toronto Raptors
Martin signed with the Toronto RaptorsToronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
for the 2005–06 season
2005-06 NBA season
The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association. It began on November 1, 2005 and ran through April 19, 2006...
. In his first year with the club he posted 2.6 ppg and 1.4 apg in 8.5 mpg of play. Martin's primary role with the Raptors, according to head coach Sam Mitchell
Sam Mitchell (basketball)
Samuel "Sam" E. Mitchell, Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player and a former head coach in the National Basketball Association . He is currently an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets....
, was to provide guidance to the younger players on the team such as point guards T. J. Ford
T. J. Ford
Terrance Jerod "T. J." Ford is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for KK Zagreb. Having been awarded numerous top basketball accolades in high school and college, Ford entered the 2003 NBA Draft and was selected eighth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks...
and José Calderón
José Calderón (basketball)
José Manuel Calderón Borrallo is a Spanish professional basketball player who plays for the National Basketball Association's Toronto Raptors and the Spanish national team.-European career:...
.
Darrick's most notable moment in a Raptors uniform was a 3-pointer against the Dallas Mavericks on November 29, 2006. With over a second remaining in regulation, and the Raptors trailing by 22 points, Martin hoisted up a 3-point shot uncontested and successfully sunk the shot. With the Raptors NBA record consecutive game streak with a 3-pointer on the verge of ending, Martin's shot enabled the Raptors to extend the streak which ended January 24, 2011. After two and a half seasons with Toronto, Martin was waived on March 27, 2008, to open up a spot on the roster for Linton Johnson
Linton Johnson
Linton Johnson III is an American professional basketball player who is currently playing in Italy for Air Avellino....
. Though waived by the Raptors, Martin stayed with the team as an informal assistant coach/consultant.