April 27, 2015
SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State men's basketball coach Paul Lusk announced Monday (April 27) he has received a National Letter of Intent from John A. Logan College standout Jordan Martin to round out his 2015-16 recruiting class.
Martin is a 6-foot-8, 235-pound power forward from St. Louis who averaged 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as a sophomore for coach Kyle Smithpeters -- a former MSU assistant coach -- at John A Logan in Carterville, Ill. He also blocked 31 shots and shot 58.5 percent from the field while scoring in double figures 14 times this season.
"Jordan is a big, physical presence," said Lusk. "He has good hands with great foot work and plays aggressively. He comes from a winning program and has been coached. We're excited to have him. He's exactly what we needed."
With Martin's help, the Vols finished 27-7 in 2014-15 and advanced to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament after winning the District 16 title. His rebounding efforts also helped Logan finish with the 12th-best rebounding margin average of all NJCAA programs this season. He also played in 29 games as a freshman and averaged 6.6 points and 5.2 rebounds with a 50.4 shooting percentage for a 20-11 club at Logan.
A product of Hazelwood Central High School in the St. Louis area, Martin averaged a double-double as a prep senior, scoring 11.3 points and snagging 11.2 rebounds per game for coach Josh Martin's Hawks. He finished fifth among all St. Louis-area players in rebounding average as a senior, snagging 10 or more caroms in 17 of 26 games in 2012-13 while firing 68.1 percent from the field and blocking 2.6 shots per game.
As a junior at Hazelwood Central, he averaged 14.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocks after seeing action in 28 games as a sophomore in 2010-11 with averages of 7.3 points and 5.6 rebounds.
Martin is the third junior college transfer to commit to the Bears during the spring NLI signing period and is the sixth newcomer committed to joining Missouri State next season. Martin joins April 15 commitments Dequon Miller (pronounced DAY-kwon) (G, 5-10, 175, Charleston, W.Va., Motlow College) and Kevin Baker (G, 6-2, 180, St. Louis, Mo., Pensacola College). Missouri State also received commitments from incoming freshmen Jarred Dixon (G, 6-3, 170, Greenwood, Mo., Lee's Summit West High), Obediah Church (F, 6-8, 200, Springfield, Ill., Springfield High) and Ryan Kreklow (G, 6-3, 185, Columbia, Mo., Rock Bridge High) during the early signing period in November.
Missouri State returns eight players, including all five starters, for Lusk's fifth campaign in Springfield.
#MSUBears
