By MITCH ABRAMSON
Curtis’ senior basketball player Hassan Martin is usually in a rush to block shots, to finish around the basket, to get back on defense. But this summer, he was in a different sort of hurry – to come back from a hand injury and increase the amount of college scholarship offers he was receiving.
After missing most of his junior season with a torn tendon in his left hand, Martin wasn’t medically cleared to play again until April 10, giving him just seven days to prepare for the start of the AAU season and the live recruiting period. A natural talent with soaring athleticism, Martin didn’t need much time to polish off his game, immediately picking up where he left off before the injury. He dominated the AAU circuit for New Heights this summer, accumulating a slew of new scholarship offers.
“He was an unknown coming into the summer but coming out he was the most recruited kid we had,” said New Heights coach Chris Alesi. “And he’s just 16, so he’s obviously just scratching the surface of how good he can be.”
Said Curtis coach Rich Buckheit: “He’s a mesmerizing talent. You can’t keep your eyes off him when he’s playing.”
But while Martin made a fan of a lot of colleges, he ended up picking a school that was one of the first to make him an offer back in November, before he sustained the injury. Following a visit to Rhode Island this weekend, where he took in a football game, Martin verbally committed to the rebuilding Atlantic-10 program and new coach Danny Hurley.
The 6-7 forward said he gave the school his word roughly 30 minutes before he sat down with Hurley and his family for a celebratory seafood dinner on Saturday night. He chose Rhode Island over St. Joseph’s and Providence, schools that entered into the recruiting process after the Rams had.
“I just liked everything about the school,” said Martin, a left-handed player who first announced the news Sunday morning on his Twitter account. “Mainly it was the coaches. They made me feel comfortable. It was just a good feeling I had. I felt like I could trust them. On the court they’re all about business, but off the court they have a good sense of humor. So I just felt comfortable with everyone.”
