Towson Basketball: Zane Martin reunion makes Tigers 2020-21 CAA frontrunner
New Mexico transfer Zane Martin made the rare decision to come back home to Towson Basketball. Will he get back to being an elite college scorer?
There have been over 1,000 transfers this offseason in NCAA Basketball. One of the later ones was Zane Martin, who recently departed from the UNLV Rebels. Considering how late the decision to leave was, there weren’t many viable places with available scholarships. However, there was one spot of familiarity with Martin… Towson Basketball.
The 6’4 guard from Philadelphia started his career out with the Tigers, averaging 5.5 ppg as a freshman off the bench. He exploded the following year, putting up 19.7 ppg as a full-time starter, making 38% from three-point range. Martin’s big season put him on the national radar and after losing several senior teammates, decided to enter the transfer portal.
It was New Mexico who landed his commitment, which was a big deal at the time. He had to sit out a year but was eligible to play last season for the Lobos. He started 18 out of 33 games, averaging 10.1 ppg and 3.1 apg. Martin’s shooting numbers took a dip but he was a solid secondary facilitator in the backcourt.
The reasons for Martin’s departure are his, but it was a big win for head coach Pat Skerry and the Tigers. Lots of times, transfer decisions create hard feelings between players and coaches but credit to everyone involved to have the kind of relationship to make this reunion possible.
Towson will need the senior guard to replace the departures of leading scorer Brian Fobbs (16.3 ppg) and Allen Betrand (13.6 ppg), who transferred to Rhode Island this offseason. Martin, if he can come near his 20 ppg average the last time he was in a Tigers uniform, would be a nice replacement. Rotation players Juwan Gray and Nicholas Timberlake are back, along with rising sophomore Jason Gibson.
The Tigers also have several transfers besides Martin that can have an impact as well, including Long Beach State guard Demetrius Mims, USC big man Victor Uyaelunmo, and High Point transfer Curtis Holland III, a guard who averaged 12.7 ppg last season and recently received a waiver to play in 2020-21. Towson now awaits the waiver decision on Makhtar Gueye, a 6’10 transfer forward from UAB who started the past two years. His presence would give the team the needed size for the upcoming campaign.
After finishing 19-13 (12-6 in CAA) last season, Towson looks to once again compete for a conference title and potentially make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991. The two teams who finished ahead of the Tigers (Hofstra and William & Mary), each lost key players and will have to rebuild a bit. Hofstra lost both star scorers (Eli Pemberton and Desure Buie), while William & Mary has to replace star Nathan Knight (20.7 ppg and 10.5 rpg) and 7’0 center Andy Van Vliet.
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If the guard can look like he did as a sophomore, Towson will have its best shot at winning the Colonial Athletic Association in a while. Some might take it as a “step back” after moving up a level and not being the same kind of star but Zane Martin getting back to where his biggest success came from may be what’s best, rather than trying to prove something at the power conference level. That decision now has the Tigers going from “rebuilding” to now “contending”.