The Traveling Man : At San Diego State, John Martens Has Finally Found a Court to Call His Own

There is a cat-like quietness about John Martens.

When he is healthy and prowls the basketball court, as he has done lately, the silence is golden. Martens, a 6-8 senior, is content as a kitten with a ball of yarn this season, averaging 14.4 points and 7.4 rebounds. Last week he was named Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week after collecting 35 points and 16 rebounds in upset wins over New Mexico and the University of Texas El Paso.

But there is no sneaking around with creaky knees. And it was reflected in Martens’ numbers his first three injury-marred years at San Diego State: an average of six points and four rebounds per game.

Hurt or healthy, though, he rarely makes a sound.

“I guess I’ve always been soft-spoken,” Martens said. “And the way I play, I can go unnoticed and still contribute quite a bit.”

Curiously, Martens, 23, is a speech communication major. But that decision is indicative of choices he has made all his life: unpredictable and often illogical. Some have caused him to suffer.

But no matter how Martens has been tossed around by fate or his own decisions, he’s landed on his feet.

Ever since he led the Newbury Park High Panthers to the Southern Section semifinals in 1981, John Martens has been a big cat. He averaged 32 points and 15 rebounds a game, and the Panthers were unbeaten in the Marmonte League and 25-1 overall.

Martens recalls that season as the best of times. Four of the five starters had played together since fourth grade, and the fifth, point guard Monte Harrick, fit in perfectly.

The memories of the rest of Martens’ high school career aren’t so happy. It fact, they barely exist.

After leading the Newbury Park freshman team to an undefeated season, Martens, then 6-5, looked forward to three years of varsity basketball.

He can only look back on one.

At a camp the summer after his freshman year, he became friends with Nigel Miguel of Notre Dame High and wound up transfering to the private school in Sherman Oaks.

That decision cost him a year of varsity eligibility.

“My dad heavily influenced me to transfer to Notre Dame,” Martens said. “I never wanted to transfer and it was a very big deal at our house. I went to Notre Dame against my will.”

True to his nature, though, Martens harbors no ill feelings toward his father. John insists that Dad had his son’s best interests at heart.

“Playing at Notre Dame, even though it was junior varsity, really improved my game,” Martens said. “It taught me a more aggressive style of play. Dad was always looking for better competition for me. One year out of my life wasn’t so much.”

As a junior, Martens transferred back to Newbury Park.

“The drive to the Valley in the thick of traffic was really a hassle,” he said. “I missed my friends. I’d been on the court with them all my life and I wanted to be part of their varsity basketball team.”

That decision cost him another year of eligibility.

“My junior year was especially frustrating,” he said. “I’d watch varsity games from the stands, knowing I could be helping out.”

The junior varsity teams he played for as a sophomore and junior never lost a game. Martens may have been the best JV player ever in the Valley.

When, finally, Martens was able to team up with childhood friends Rick Maloney, Dale Schroeder, Rob Lowry, Jay Dodwell and Chris Bates on the Newbury Park varsity, the team was the best in the school’s history.

“We had been going to Newbury Park games since we were too young to do tip-ins,” Martens recalled. “It was our dream to play together and win.”

Martens was good enough to win a full scholarship to just about any Division I school. Pepperdine, where Harrick’s father, Jim, was coach, went after Martens but didn’t guarantee him a starting position as a freshman.

“That was important to me at the time,” Martens said.

University of San Francisco assistant Vince Combs promised Martens a spot in the starting lineup and a scholarship for Lowry, who is Martens’ best friend.

Another decision. And in retrospect, possibly another mistake.

Sure, he was a freshman who started all 31 games on a nationally ranked team.

Sure, he played on the same court with and lived across the hall from All-American Quintin Dailey. “He made me feel like I belonged,” Martens said.

But life in the big city wasn’t for Martens. He ain’t no alley cat. “I had a hard time adjusting,” he said. So he decided to transfer, knowing he would lose a year of eligibility just as he had in high school.

When Dailey was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and the school dropped its basketball program, however, it was a break for Martens. He was able to transfer without losing eligibility.

“I got a thousand phone calls when coaches found out USF dropped its program,” Martens recalled. “The recruiting began all over again.”

One coach who didn’t call was San Diego State’s Smokey Gaines. You can probably guess what Martens did.

He called Gaines.

San Diego State isn’t exactly a basketball powerhouse. The most prominent former Aztec basketball players are Art Linkletter (1932-34) and Tony Gwynn (1978-81). Of course, neither is known primarily for his court prowess.

But SDSU has been a refuge for large stray cats like Martens. Remember Steve Malovic, the 7-0 center who had a malo experience as a sophomore at USC? He transferred to San Diego State in 1977, had a distinguished career and played in the NBA for the Washington Bullets.

“I wanted to live in a warm-weather city,” Martens said. “I didn’t know anything about the basketball program. Smokey was skeptical at first because I called him out of the blue.”

David (Smokey) Gaines is the antithesis of Martens, a fast talker and flashy dresser who played for the Harlem Globetrotters before taking a job as an assistant coach under Dick Vitale at the University of Detroit. After Vitale left, Gaines coached the Titans for two years and compiled a 47-10 record.

Martens and Gaines, now in his seventh season at SDSU, have developed a mutual admiration.

“John has a great understanding of the game,” Gaines said. “He contributes in many ways, not all of which show up in the score book.”

Said Martens: “I’m from suburban Thousand Oaks, not Detroit city. Smokey and I had trouble communicating at first. But we’ve come to respect one another.”

Martens has earned the respect of SDSU opponents as well. Just watch this stray cat strut now.

After having to play center early in the season because of injuries to teammates, Martens was able to move to his natural position of small forward last week when center Steffond Johnson returned to the lineup.

In the first half against New Mexico last week, Martens hit a 17-foot jumper, a 10-foot fall-away, a modified sky hook, a layup on the end of a fast break and a scoop shot from underneath the basket that left his hand about two feet from the floor, the ball kissing the glass with the proper English and falling softly through the net.

“There are two ways to bring the ball to the hoop,” Martens said. “You can go straight up or go for gaps between defenders. I look for an open area to slip through and use the basket as a shield.”

Before Johnson returned, however, Martens essentially took the floor with four guards, the tallest of which was 6-4. It was like taking on neighboring gangs with your kid brother and his puny pals. The Aztecs were 3-11 with Martens at center.

“We were outrebounded every game but one until Steffond came back,” Martens said.

Johnson, a muscular 6-8, 240-pound senior, is more canine than feline in style, a Doberman pinscher of a player. He is another refugee, having transferred from Louisiana State last season. Martens and Johnson complement one another.

“John is free to roam with me in the game,” said Johnson, who had 26 points and 11 rebounds against UTEP, and 7 rebounds in 23 minutes against New Mexico.

Despite the dismal start, the Aztecs hope to win the WAC tournament, which begins March 4. SDSU won the tournament last season and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1976, but finished with a 23-8 record after losing in the first round to UNLV.

The WAC tournament was the highlight of Martens’ season, as well. After undergoing arthroscopic surgery in midseason, he played his way back into the lineup in time for the tournament, getting a total of 20 points and 18 rebounds in the last two games to earn a berth on the all-tournament team.

“Finishing strong motivated me to work harder during the off-season,” he said.

Knee injuries forced Martens to redshirt during the 1983-84 season and also brought an abrupt end to his sophomore season in 1982-83. SDSU had won its first eight games that year with Martens at forward, but he fractured a kneecap in practice and missed 12 games.

Martens has made a career out of adapting to misfortune, so while sidelined he concentrated on his studies and blended into the laid-back San Diego lifestyle. Genuinely content, he has no regrets. Maybe that’s why Martens’ college career is ending on a high note.

And the future?

“A career in the NBA is a bit far-fetched,” he said. “But I’d like to play in Europe. That would be a great experience.”

Don’t be surprised if the big cat surfaces on a professional team somewhere. He’s got a couple of those nine lives left to live.