Darrick Martin
Darrick Martin | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 6, 1971 United States |
| Occupation(s) | Basketball coach, former player |
| Years active | 1990s–2010s |
| Known for | Head coach of Reno Bighorns, NBA and CBA player |
Darrick David Martin (born March 6, 1971) is an American basketball coach, most recently serving as the head coach for the Reno Bighorns in the NBA G League. His professional playing tenure extended for more than ten years, during which he alternated between the Continental Basketball Association (CBA)—where he was honored as the 2003 CBA Playoffs MVP—and the NBA. In 2003, Martin also competed with the Harlem Globetrotters and subsequently played for the Los Angeles Lightning of the Independent Basketball Association (IBL). He was named head coach of the Reno Bighorns in June 2016.
High school achievements and college career
During his senior year at St. Anthony High School, Martin earned recognition as a Parade First-Team All-American and was selected for the prestigious McDonald's High School All-American roster.
Martin accepted a full athletic scholarship to UCLA, where he competed alongside future NBA talents such as Don MacLean, Tracy Murray, and Mitchell Butler. Known for his speed as a point guard, he concluded his UCLA tenure in 1992 holding second place in school history for both assists (636) and steals (179), while ranking fourth all-time in assists within the Pacific-10 Conference. Over four seasons, he averaged 9.3 points and 4.9 assists per game, peaking in his junior year with averages of 11.6 points and 6.8 assists—the highest in the Pac-10 and placing him 16th nationally. His total of 217 assists in a single season remains second only to Jerome "Pooh" Richardson at UCLA.
Pre-NBA experience
Standing at 5'11", Martin went undrafted by the NBA but began his professional journey with the CBA's Sioux Falls Skyforce. In 1995, he ranked as the league’s tenth leading scorer with an average of 21 points per game and earned a spot on the CBA All-League Second Team. That February, he secured two consecutive 10-day contracts with the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and rejoined them during the 2003–04 NBA season as a backup following an injury to Troy Hudson.
Vancouver Grizzlies
For the 1995–96 NBA season, Martin signed as a free agent with the Vancouver Grizzlies, but was traded back to Minnesota two months later in exchange for a second-round draft pick. Throughout these seasons, he maintained an average scoring output near seven points per game.
Los Angeles Clippers
Martin became part of the Los Angeles Clippers roster in 1996, spending three seasons with the team and averaging ten points per game. He played all 82 games during his first two campaigns with them. He returned to the Clippers for the 2004-05 NBA season, where his scoring average was 3.8 points per contest.
Sacramento Kings
Following the lockout-shortened 1999 campaign, Martin inked a two-year contract with the Sacramento Kings. A highlight came on March 6, 2000, when he contributed 11 points within two minutes off the bench during a commanding 130–109 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. His teammates affectionately dubbed him "The Domino."
Continental Basketball Association
In 2003, Martin captured a Continental Basketball Association (CBA) championship while playing with the Yakima Sun Kings.
Toronto Raptors
Martin became a member of the Toronto Raptors during the 2005–06 season, where he posted averages of 2.6 points and 1.4 assists while playing 8.5 minutes per contest. Head coach Sam Mitchell primarily appreciated Martin for his role in guiding and supporting younger point guards such as T. J. Ford and José Calderón. One notable moment was his pivotal three-point shot against the Dallas Mavericks on November 29, 2006, which contributed to extending the Raptors' streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer—a franchise record that remained intact until January 24, 2011. After spending two and a half seasons with Toronto, Martin was waived on March 27, 2008, to open a roster spot for Linton Johnson; however, he continued to serve the Raptors in an unofficial capacity as an assistant coach and advisor.
Regular season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota | 34 || 9 || 23.6 || .408 || .184 || .877 || 1.9 || 3.9 || 1.0 || .0 || 7.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Vancouver | 24 || 0 || 16.8 || .450 || .227 || .826 || 1.6 || 2.5 || 1.1 || .0 || 6.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota | 35 || 16 || 21.3 || .381 || .319 || .851 || 1.3 || 4.5 || .7 || .1 || 7.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers | 82 || 64 || 22.2 || .407 || .389 || .872 || 1.4 || 4.1 || .7 || .0 || 10.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers | style="background:#cfecec;"| 82* || 63 || 28.0 || .377 || .365 || .848 || 2.0 || 4.0 || 1.0 || .1 || 10.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers | 37 || 25 || 25.4 || .367 || .292 || .803 || 1.3 || 3.9 || 1.2 || .1||8.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Sacramento |71||1||12.6|| .380|| .306|| .824|| .6||1.7|| .4|| .0||5.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Sacramento |31||0||5.6|| .382|| .519|| .886|| .5|| .5|| .2|| .0||3.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas |3||0||7.5|| .000|| .000|| .500|| .3||1.0|| .7|| .0||0.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota
|16||0||10.7|| .299|| .231|| 1.000|| .4||1.4|| .1|| .1||3.4 |- | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | L.A.Clippers |11||0||17.3|| .320|| .278|| .625|| .9||2.5|| .5|| .0||3.8 |- | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | Toronto |40||0||8.5|| .351|| .400|| .750|| .5||1.4|| .4|| .0||2.6 |- | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | Toronto |31||0||7.1|| .351|| .351|| .714|| .4||1.4||| .1||| .0|||3.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | Toronto |17|||0|||8.3||| .233||| .125||| .833||| .4|||1.2||| .4||| .0|||1.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career |514|||178|||17.8||| .382||| .340||| .843||| 1.1|||2.9||| .7||| .0|||6.9
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Playoffs
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers | 3 || 3 || 25.7 || .440 || .556 || .667 || .7 || 4.3 || .0 || .0 || 11.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Sacramento | 2 || 0 || 10.5 || .333 || .333 || .750 || 1..5 || 1..0' '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .5 '|' .
Later career
In November 2009, Martin rejoined the Minnesota Timberwolves organization, taking on the role of assistant director of player development.
By 2012, he had become part of the St. John's Red Storm men's basketball coaching staff, serving as an assistant coach under Steve Lavin.
On October 27, 2015, Martin was appointed as the radio analyst for the UCLA Bruins on the UCLA Bruins IMG Sports network, succeeding Tracy Murray.
On June 22, 2016, Martin accepted the position of head coach for the Reno Bighorns in the NBA Development League. However, he was not retained after the franchise relocated and was renamed the Stockton Kings.