Remy Martin’s passion for basketball helped him get better each year at ASU

It’s easy to find measurements and stats for a player. It’s harder for that athlete to pass the eye test. Maybe the hardest of all for a recruiter is to find intangibles that can push the athlete to higher levels.

Arizona State men’s basketball head coach Bobby Hurley told 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station‘s Doug & Wolf Tuesday morning that ASU got one of those athletes in Remy Martin.

“He wasn’t a five-star recruit. He’s a passed a lot of people by in his career because of his work ethic and his love to play,” Hurley said.

Martin has led the charge for a Sun Devil team that took first place in the Pac-12 Saturday with its seventh straight win, the team’s longest conference winning streak since 1980-81.

His 19.1 points per game is second in the conference. He has consistently hit big shots, including the game-winner against USC with less than 20 seconds remaining on the clock on Feb. 8.

Martin evolved from the energy guy off the bench to a contender for Pac-12 Player of the Year.

He increased his scoring average by more than six points from last year to this while playing just one extra minute per game. His field goal and 3-point percentages rocketed up to respectable levels this season, and his defense has helped ASU stay in tight games when the offense fizzles out — as it did Saturday against Oregon State, when the Sun Devils only made one shot over the final six minutes.

“It’s always hard maybe to identify that when you’re recruiting a player like Remy Martin, but I noticed the passion that he played with as a younger player and how hard he played at both ends of the court,” Hurley said. “That’s what you’re looking for on the guy at that position. That guy needs to be a tough guy that teammates respect and want to follow and we have one of those guys.”

How did Hurley and the ASU staff come to do this when Martin was at Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, Calif.?

Hurley said they have to get to know the player and watch how he interacts with teammates. As a senior in high school, Martin averaged 11.5 points and 6.9 assists per game as he helped the Trailblazers get to the semifinals.

“Do they play unselfish, do you get a sense that they love to play? That’s what’s immediate and was instant with Remy, I could just tell that he loved the game,” Hurley said.

“He’s humble enough to know he wants to keep getting better and he’s done so every year.”

ASU takes on UCLA on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion at 9 p.m. Listen at 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

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