Berne Union's Hunter Martin a co-player of the year

SUGAR GROVE – It's not often that a basketball coach encourages a player to be more selfish.

Berne Union's Tracy Blevins said that for senior standout Hunter Martin, one of his greatest strengths was his eye for finding other teammates who might also have an open shot.

"One of his greatest attributes that people don't see is his passing ability," Blevins said.

The 6-foot, 9-inch senior center for the Rockets is the 2015 Eagle-Gazette co-Player of the Year. He shares the honor with Andrew James from Bloom-Carroll.

Martin averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds a game this season. But, as he proved against Grove City Christian in February, he could definitely score a lot more than that.

In his last full game with the Rockets, Martin knocked in 40 of the team's 74 points. Martin said that game was a big career highlight for him.

Unfortunately, for Martin, in the next game on the road at Fisher Catholic, he went down with a medial collateral ligament sprain in his left knee. He donned a large brace for the Rockets' first tournament game against Ridgedale at home, but only saw a couple minutes of playing time at the end of that one-point loss.

"It hurt a lot because I knew that that could have been my last high school game ever," Martin said. "I just tried cheering on my teammates as much as I could."

And his ability to be a team player, Blevins said, is what hurt the Rockets the most in their final game of the season.

"You could see in our last game that we had to play without him that he was our go-to guy," Blevins said. "When there was a time of need, the team knew that they could look to him."

Even if Martin is not the most selfish player on the floor, he still reached some amazing heights in his high school career. And being almost 7 feet tall had little to do with it.

Martin is second on the school's career list for 3-pointers made in school history, Blevins said. His ability to score in and out of the paint, Blevins said, is a testament to his work ethic.

Blevins has coached Martin for four years, since he came in as a "gangly freshman."

"He had high expectations around the county and it was difficult for him at first to handle those expectations," Blevins said. But, he said he is proud of the way Martin grew as a player and as a person. "It was a lot of fun to watch and be a part of."

Other career highlights, besides scoring 40 points in a single game, included defeating Fairfield Christian Academy at home this season, Martin said. He said he will also always remember defeating Harvest Prep as a sophomore and earning Blevins his 100th win with the school.

A basketball player since the second grade, Martin does not plan on this season being his last. He said he spends his free time working on post moves and shooting. He is also trying to gain weight so that he can have a better chance of playing basketball in college next season.

For the immediate future, Martin is on the baseball diamond. He is picking up a bat for the first time in years and is excited, though nervous, to play something different this spring.

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