Tyrese Martin’s NBA opportunity has arrived.
The Allen High School product was the 51st overall selection on Thursday night in the NBA Draft and landed with the Atlanta Hawks. The 51st pick belonged to the Golden State Warriors, the reigning NBA champions, but was controlled by Atlanta in exchange for the 44th pick (Toledo’s Ryan Rollins) and $2 million, according to ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski.
On Friday, Martin was back in Sewards Gymnasium in Allentown, where Mayor Matthew Tuerk revealed a proclamation declaring June 24, 2022, “Tyrese Martin Day” in the city.
Martin started 29 games for the University of Connecticut in the winter, averaging 13.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while making 43 of 100 3-point attempts. He played for the Beast Coast Ballers, who won the national 3-on-3 tournament held during NCAA championship weekend in New Orleans. The former Canary also scored 22 points to lead the East team to victory in the NABC College All-Star game.
Martin participated in the NBA G League Elite Camp in Chicago and was one of seven players from that event to earn an invitation to the NBA Draft Combine.
That busy offseason generated a pre-draft workout with Atlanta in May for the 6-foot-6, 216-pound guard.
Martin, who was the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Most Valuable Player, averaged 20.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per contest during his senior season at Allen in 2017. He tallied 1,120 career points for the Canaries.
The former second-team All-State selection spent a year at Massanutten Military Academy in Virginia before playing his first two collegiate seasons at the University of Rhode Island.
He was a two-year starter at Connecticut, helping the Huskies to a pair of appearances in the NCAA tournament. Combining his two Division I stops, Martin had 1,271 points and 767 rebounds in his career.
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Kyle Craig may be reached at kcraig@lehighvalleylive.com.
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