He’s Making the Grade : St. Anthony’s Darrick Martin Has Earned Recognition as One of Nation’s Best

You hear all the horror stories about high school kids on drugs, in gangs, or academically ineligible to play sports, and then you come across one Darrick Martin, basketball player from St. Anthony High School, and you ask yourself:

Is this kid for real?

After all, he skipped a grade in elementary school. He has never received a semester grade lower than a B in high school. He has completed all of the NCAA-required core classes and scored high enough on the Scholastic Aptitude Test to be eligible to play college basketball-- before his senior year of high school.

And he’s so good that he is being called, by some college coaches, the best all-around high school point guard in the country.

He averaged 31 points per game, a Long Beach high school single-season record, as a 15-year-old junior.

And he’s so clean that he says he has never even been offered drugs, either at school or around his hometown of Compton.

Yes, Darrick Martin is the complete package, batteries included, gift-wrapped in a sleek 6-foot, 155-pound frame and ready to be delivered to the college of his choice.

Where he’ll go is anyone’s guess. He has pared his list of schools to 15: UCLA, Nevada Las Vegas, USC, Duke, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Arizona, Arizona State, California, Iowa, Kansas, Northwestern, DePaul, Illinois and Stanford.

He is going to wait until the spring of 1988 to sign a letter of intent, because, he says, too many things can go wrong if he signs early. Coaches can leave; schools can be put on probation.

Besides, he’ll have enough on his mind this fall, what with a course load of calculus, physics, British literature, U.S. government and economics, photography and religion.

And basketball season.

When I was little, growing up, playing basketball, my uncle was rated as the top point guard in Colorado. At that time, I would play games against him but would never win. So I would cry and cry and even stop speaking to him for about a half day each time he beat me. After each game, I’d practice and practice until dark because I desperately wanted to beat my uncle. By beating me in basketball, my uncle developed a determination in me in wanting to be the best. --Excerpt from essay titled, “Who Influenced Me The Most,” by Darrick Martin

Darrick finally beat his uncle, Daryl Fox. It took him nine years to pull out a 15-13 victory two summers ago, but he never stopped trying. Martin takes that kind of attitude--that basketball is always a struggle--into games today, regardless of his reputation.

“I still go out and play every game like I have to prove something,” he said. “I’ll do anything to win, whether it’s passing or shooting.”

He can do everything on the court--and then some.

The left-handed Martin is extremely quick, has a soft touch from outside and is an outstanding passer. He has mastered the funky, no-look pass, the kind that leaves crowds oohing and aahing .

Wednesday night, in a summer league game at Long Beach City College, he made a two-handed, no-look pass over his head to teammate Daven Baptiste for a layup. He followed that moments later with a no-look, around-the-back pass to another teammate.

He plays the game with flair, and he’s always grinning on the court, laughing and having fun.

“He’s the kind of guy who fills stadiums for four years,” said Arizona Coach Lute Olsen, who watched Wednesday night’s game. “He’s flashy but under control.”

Because Martin was such a prolific shooter and scorer on his high school team, some college coaches had questioned his passing ability. But that issue was put to rest during last month’s Nike Camp at Princeton, which attracts about 120 of the nation’s top seniors.

There, Martin didn’t have to score as much, so he concentrated on passing and play-making.

“I think he came away from there as the best all-around guard in the country,” Olsen said.

Orange County fans who haven’t seen Martin will get their chance this weekend. St. Anthony is one of 16 teams in the Servite summer basketball tournament, which begins today at Servite High. St. Anthony opens against Fullerton at 3 p.m.

My parents have always showed love and patience with me. Even when I do something wrong, they still forgive me and love me. By my parents showing patience and an unconditional love toward me, I’ve learned to love people unconditionally and be patient with them when they make mistakes. --Another excerpt from “Who Influenced Me The Most,” by Darrick Martin.

College coaches are as impressed with the job that Jesse and Pam Martin have done in rearing Darrick as they are with Darrick’s basketball skills.

“They would make a nice guide for a lot of parents to follow,” Olsen said.

What’s the secret?

“You just have to love them a lot and be very interested in everything they’re doing,” Pam Martin said. “If Darrick has a game, or if any of the other children (Andre, 15, Kevin, 10, and Jessica, 4) have another activity, myself or my husband, or both of us, are there.”

They’re also there when it’s homework time. The No. 1 rule in the Martin house is that school comes before everything else.

When Darrick was in the seventh grade, his parents issued this ultimatum: If you get a C for a semester grade, you don’t play basketball. Simple as that.

“I was kind of shocked, at first,” Martin said. “But if you put your mind to it and work hard, it can be done. It’s not that hard.”

At least, not for Martin. When he was in the fourth grade at New Life Christian School in Lynwood, he was doing fifth grade-level work and getting A’s and B’s. So, Martin, who turned 16 on March 6, skipped fifth grade and went to sixth the next year.

Martin, who scored an 820 on his first SAT test and is awaiting the results of his second, has a 3.2 grade-point average in high school and has never received a C-semester grade--or a reprimand.

But what about his senior year, when Martin will take on a curriculum that would challenge most college students, and the added pressure of dealing with the horde of basketball coaches who will be calling every night?

Sorry. A rule’s a rule.

“We don’t break promises to each other,” Jesse said. “We both realize the load he’s been carrying, and he knows it’s gonna take a lot of time management and dedication to maintain his GPA.”

Martin, who plans to major in computer science in college, doesn’t sound the least bit worried.

“I think I’ll be able to handle it,” he said.

Your best friend could be the one who offers it to you. You have to be prepared to be strong, to say that’s not for me. --Pam Martin, speaking about drugs.

So far, Darrick Martin has been strong enough to handle the pressures of youth. The worst temptation he’s faced, he said, is to drink alcohol, but he has never been asked to use drugs or sell them.

“The people I hang around, I tell them right away that I’m not involved with this,” Martin said. “So, they have the impression right away, ‘Don’t ask Darrick.’ ”

Still, ask Martin what his biggest fear is, and he’ll say, “Drugs--cocaine and how it controls people, how people will do anything to get it, even kids 10, 11 years old. That’s real frightening.”

But Jesse and Pam Martin haven’t had to worry too much about Darrick, who has kept his success, both in basketball and in school, in perspective.

“He’s a very mature, determined young man who has never given us any problems,” Jesse said. “I’m pleased that he’s selective with whom he chooses to be with. He doesn’t shine anyone, but he has his choice of friends.”

Darrick gives his parents most of the credit.

“I think I have very special parents, who have always encouraged me and stayed on me enough so I would stay out of trouble,” Martin said.

You can sense Martin’s maturity when he’s speaking about his future. His No. 1 goal is not to play in the NBA but to graduate from college with honors.

“I want to get a degree and make use of it,” Martin said. “I would like to go pro, but if I don’t, it will be OK, as long as I get my education. That’s my first priority.”

Lots of kids say that.

But, you can tell, Darrick Martin means it.