Justin Martin

[xuwin]

This young man needs kudos from us this morning.
19 points 4 boards, no turnovers only 2 fouls and 38 minutes on the floor.
JMart came to NYC to play!!!!!

Zero turnovers from Martin and Dee Davis was the key to the win. They were both focused for the full 40 minutes with no mental lapses.

[GoMuskies]

Martin was awesome last night. One or two shots I didn't like (one of which led to a breakout dunk), but that's going to happen when you're shooting as well as he is right now. Almost all of his good looks are going down right now. The only time he seems to miss is when he takes a bad shot (which I guess plays into the old adage is that the only bad shot is one that you miss!).

Let's hope he brings it back to back nights in NYC.

[X-man]

JMart is going to be our #1 star next year, assuming that SC will be gone. What a big change in attitude and performance he exhibited this year. X would not be dancing without him that's for sure.

Bad assumption...SC will be back.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Bad assumption...SC will be back.

I am sure SC would much rather be making the big $ next year than playing college basketball. I hope he gets what he deserves.

[XUFan09]

I am sure SC would much rather be making the big $ next year than playing college basketball. I hope he gets what he deserves.

Semaj now gets his chance to Dance. If he has a big tournament, he'll be projected solidly in the first round, at which point I bet he takes the opportunity. It's a win-win for Xavier fans: Semaj leads us on a tournament run or we're LOADED next year.

[Masterofreality]

I have never been so happy to be so wrong about an anlysis I made after the Bahamas.

I have my Lenten Sackcloth on and wearing ashes. Use me as a Voo-Doo pin cushion. I don't care.

Pain is right next to pleasure.

[Caveat]

Bad assumption...SC will be back.

Tough to tell, at this point. Most NBA mocks I've seen have him being taken somewhere in the mid 20s. The 2014-2015 NBA rookie pay scale for a pick in that range is $1.3M (120% of base $1.09M at pick #23) to $756,000 (80% of base $946,000 at pick #27).

That's great money, but it's not "blow you away" money -- and it's also far enough down the board that there would be SOME worry about falling out of the first round entirely (and remember, only 1st round picks get guaranteed contracts in the NBA). If Semaj comes back, works on his outside shooting in the offseason, and can improve himself into the 15-18 pick range, he'll be looking at lock-down guaranteed contract at over $1M per year.

Assuming Maj's draft status remains unchanged between now and the end of the tourney, he's going to have a difficult decision to make IMO.

[TUclutch]

Tough to tell, at this point. Most NBA mocks I've seen have him being taken somewhere in the mid 20s. The 2014-2015 NBA rookie pay scale for a pick in that range is $1.3M (120% of base $1.09M at pick #23) to $756,000 (80% of base $946,000 at pick #27).

That's great money, but it's not "blow you away" money -- and it's also far enough down the board that there would be SOME worry about falling out of the first round entirely (and remember, only 1st round picks get guaranteed contracts in the NBA). If Semaj comes back, works on his outside shooting in the offseason, and can improve himself into the 15-18 pick range, he'll be looking at lock-down guaranteed contract at over $1M per year.

Assuming Maj's draft status remains unchanged between now and the end of the tourney, he's going to have a difficult decision to make IMO.

I think its probably 60/40 he goes, and no one could fault him for leaving. With that said, IF he stays, XU has the potential to be a top 15 team. Semaj, Remy, JMart, Reynolds, and Stain starting. Bluiett, Davis, Davis, Randolph, Farr, Macura as the bench. That team is stacked.

[The_Mack_Pack]

Just having a couple of guys who you can count on coming off the bench would make this team so much better. The starting 5 right now is really good, the bench right now is a different story.

[Milhouse]

yeah i think we're all counting our chickens before they hatch here. I dont think we will be nearly as deep as we think next year. Can't really count of freshmen to contribute too much (look at this year) and our will be sophomore issues as well (sans reynolds of course)....