Rhode Island transfer Tyrese Martin, who had previously been recruited to URI by then-coach Dan Hurley, has again agreed to play for Hurley, this time for the University of Connecticut “Good” Huskies. The news was first reported on Tuesday by Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. When Martin will be able to play, unfortunately, remains to be seen.
The NCAA has been inexplicably (or perhaps explicably, given what craven cowards the NCAA has always comprised) dragging their feet in recent weeks on a rule change that would allow all players (including Martin) to transfer once without having to sit out a season before playing at a new school. Recent reports suggest that they will push the rule change to the following year, which would force Martin to sit out the 2020-21 season.
This is obviously problematic for Hurley. Though he has 11 players coming back next season, two of them – forwards Tyler Polley and Akok Akok – are coming off serious injuries that leave their return dates at least somewhat uncertain. The Huskies had been pursuing Rider wing Dimencio Vaughn, a grad transfer who is eligible to play in 2020-21, but he announced his plan to attend Ole Miss over the weekend.
As for Martin, whenever he is able to get on the court, he should be an asset. Martin is a high-level athlete who has already performed at a high level, having averaged 12.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.1 steals last year for the Rams, but there is still room to grow. His jump shot is inconsistent, his turnover rate is too high, and his free throw rate is too low. He needs to sharpen up his shooting and passing and get better at drawing contact. But he’s an adroit finisher at the rim and an outstanding rebounder for his size, so expect to see him be a big part of Hurley’s squad in the future, whenever that future starts.
The Huskies have one more scholarship available for next season. They have also been pursuing Virginia Tech transfer Landers Nolley, but that seems less likely now that they have Martin in the fold, as both are athletic, rebounding wings who would have to sit out next season. Brandon Johnson, a 6’8″ transfer power forward from Western Michigan, has listed UConn as a finalist and plans to announce later this week. Stay tuned.
