.jpg) Martin in 1972 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1950-03-26)March 26, 1950 (age 75) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Listed weight | 208 lb (94 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | De La Salle Institute (Chicago, Illinois) |
| College | Loyola Chicago (1969–1972) |
| NBA draft | 1972: 1st round,1st overall pick |
| Drafted by | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Playing career | 1972–1976 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 35 |
| Career history | |
| 1972–1976 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Career highlights | |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 1,430 (5.3 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,258 (4.6 rpg) |
| Assists | 203 (0.7 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
LaRue Martin (born March 26, 1950) is an American former professionalbasketball player. Martin was drafted first overall out ofLoyola University Chicago by thePortland Trail Blazers in theNational Basketball Association's (NBA) controversy riddled1972 NBA draft. He was drafted ahead of futureHall of FamersBob McAdoo andJulius Erving.[1] Martin has been discussed as one of the worst first overalldraft picks in NBA history, but he moved on to forge a successful corporate career.[1]
Shy and reserved as a youth, Martin was a 6-foot-11center fromChicago, Illinois, who attended high school atDe La Salle Institute. There he played for Coach Jerry Tokars and was a classmate ofBryant Gumbel. Martin stayed in Chicago for college, recruited toLoyola University Chicago by CoachGeorge Ireland.[2][3][4]
In 1969–1970, after a year on the freshman team (freshman were not allowed to play NCAA varsity basketball in this era), Martin debuted for theLoyola Ramblers, averaging a strongdouble-double of 16.6 points and 14.4 rebounds, as Loyola finished 13–11.[5]
As a junior in 1970–1971, Martin was the star on a dreadful 4–20 team, averaging 18.7 points and 17.6 rebounds.[6]
Loyola finished 8–14 in Martin's senior season of 1971–1972, despite his averaging 19.6 points and 15.7 rebounds.[7]
Martin had garnered attention, playing well againstBill Walton in a game between Loyola andUCLA, in 1971–72. Although his Ramblers lost to UCLA 92–64 on January 28, 1972, while the Bruins were in the midst of their 88-game winning streak, Martin had 19 points and 18 rebounds while matched up directly against future teammate Walton, who had 18 points and 16 rebounds. Martin had played similarly againstJim Chones of Marquette in their game the night before, outscoring him, 33–22, and outrebounding him 23–14.[8][9][10]
Portland Trail Blazers scoutStu Inman was in attendance for both games and took notice of Martin's strong back-to-back performances against the two premier big men in the country. Portland would later draft both Walton and Martin.[11]
In his career at Loyola, Martin averaged a double-double of 18.2 points and 15.9 rebounds in 67 games. He had 1222 career points with 1062 rebounds. Martin remains Loyola's all-time leading rebounder.[12][13]
The Portland Trail Blazers made Martin the first overall pick in the1972 NBA draft; Martin was also the #3 pick of theAmerican Basketball Association draft by theDallas Chaparrals.[14][15]
The1972 NBA draft may have been controversially influenced: Chones had signed with theNew York Nets of the ABA.
It was rumored that North Carolina starBob McAdoo, one of the best players available in the draft, had signed with theVirginia Squires of the rivalAmerican Basketball Association after a "secret" ABA draft took place, in which names of those drafted were not made public; Reportedly, NBA CommissionerWalter Kennedy had advised NBA teams not to draft McAdoo.[16] Other reports were that a contract was signed and voided, because McAdoo was too young to have signed it, and that the NBABuffalo Braves somehow knew this.[17] Yet another story was that Portland negotiated with McAdoo on the eve of the draft, but could not meet his demands.[8] Later, McAdoo was the No. 1 pick of the 1972American Basketball Association Draft.
Buffalo chose McAdoo with the pick behind Martin, while theMilwaukee Bucks drafted Julius Erving with the No. 12 pick, but he was already playing in the ABA, and remained with the Virginia Squires.[18][19][20][17]
As a rookie in the 1972–73 season (Portland's third overall season as a franchise), Martin was 6'11" and weighed 205 pounds. In his rookie year, he averaged 4.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 77 games with limited minutes (12 per game). The Trail Blazers finished 21–61 under head coachJack McCloskey. When the Trail Blazers played at Chicago during his rookie year, McCloskey benched Martin for the entire game. "It was a tough pill to swallow. I was embarrassed. I had tears in my eyes." said Martin, who had numerous family and friends in attendance. "Every time I think about it it haunts me."[21] Martin had similar numbers the next season playing for McCloskey and the Trail Blazers were 27–55.[22][4]
Martin reflected on coach McCloskey by stating that he "wasn't a believer in my ability," Martin said. "He came from Wake Forest in North Carolina, and he wanted Bob McAdoo. Hey, Bob was a hell of a player. I know that. Maybe I wasn't the right guy for Jack. So be it. But I never gave him any grief when I was playing for him. I'm not into that. I just kept my mouth shut and did what I was told. I guess it wasn't good enough."[4]
In1974–75, under new head coachLenny Wilkens, Martin initially saw his playing time decrease more after the Trail Blazers had selected Bill Walton as the No. 1 pick of the1974 NBA draft and inserted him in the lineup. However, Martin averaged 7.0 points in 17 minutes and shot .452 from the field, when Walton missed most of the year with injuries. Portland finished 38-44 that year, then finished the next year 37–45.[23]
Martin was traded from the Trail Blazers to theSeattle SuperSonics before the 1976 season. However, Martin wouldn't play another game after being cut by Seattle before the start of the1976–77 season. Martin signed contracts with theCleveland Cavaliers (September 1, 1977) andChicago Bulls (August 1, 1978). In both cases he was placed on waivers within weeks of signing.[24] Martin also rejected numerous offers to play in Europe.[4][25]
In four NBA seasons, Martin averaged 5.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 271 career games, averaging 14 minutes per game.[26]
Martin's short career at times becomes the punchline to draft jokes. His selection was the predecessor in Portland to other unfulfilled big-man potential in Bill Walton (No. 1 overall pick1974 NBA draft),Sam Bowie (No. 2 overall pick in1984 NBA draft selected just ahead ofMichael Jordan) andGreg Oden (No. 1 overall pick of the2007 NBA draft selected just ahead ofKevin Durant).[27]
“Being a No. 1 draft choice, getting that big zero on your back, you are a marked man,” Martin said at a National Basketball Retired Players Association event. “My career was up and down. They called me the worst draft choice in the nation, and that bothered me. But I had the opportunity to move on and get into the corporate world, and I’ve moved on ever since.”[27]
His selection as the #1 pick had been compared to other #1 picks that were later seen as busts in the NBA, such asMichael Olowokandi from1998,Kwame Brown from2001, and most recentlyAnthony Bennett from2013. However, his selection is oftentimes considered forgotten about in the more modern-day era by comparison to those other players.
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972–73 | Portland | 77 | – | 12.9 | .396 | – | .649 | 4.6 | .5 | – | – | 4.4 |
| 1973–74 | Portland | 50 | – | 10.8 | .435 | – | .636 | 3.6 | .4 | .1 | .5 | 4.9 |
| 1974–75 | Portland | 81 | – | 16.9 | .452 | – | .697 | 5.0 | .9 | .4 | .6 | 7.0 |
| 1975–76 | Portland | 63 | – | 14.1 | .361 | – | .740 | 4.9 | 1.1 | .1 | .4 | 4.4 |
| Career | 271 | – | 14.0 | .416 | – | .685 | 4.6 | .7 | .2 | .5 | 5.3 | |
Martin received a B.A. in sociology with a minor in education from Loyola. After his basketball career, he worked forNike in Oregon, and an insurance company before joiningUPS in the mid-1980s.[28] Remaining at UPS, he has worked as the Community Services Manager since August 2005.[29]
Martin is on the National Basketball Retired Players Association Board of Directors.[30][27]
Active in the community, besides his corporate career, Martins's board memberships and civic affiliations have included the City Club of Chicago, YMCA Mentoring Program, the African American Advisory Council of the Cook County State's Attorney's office, the Urban League of N.W. Indiana, M.L.K. Boys and Girls Club of Chicago, The Leverage Network and De La Salle Instite Board of Directors.[30]
Martin was featured in a segment onHBO'sReal Sports with Bryant Gumbel in 2011.[3]
Reflecting on his NBA career, Martin said "I don't believe in saying anything negative, you have no control over that, I took care of my family, did what I had to do and I'm the type of person I can't dwell off the negatives. I can't. I kept my head up high and moved onto a positive mode of life and it has treated me very well."[31]
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