Eric Martin’s passion for basketball started with a moment of curiosity when he was 9 years old.
Martin was watching his older brother, Amantae, play in a game and said three simple words that launched his career.
“Can I play?”
Since that day, Martin has grown into a 6-foot-6 senior guard/forward who is Calumet’s leading scorer through the first month of the season.
In between, he said basketball became his primary focus by middle school and that he grew to 6-1 in eighth grade.
“It seemed like the whole game came a little bit easier then,” Martin said.
Martin’s freshman year took a left turn when his family moved to Indianapolis, and he spent his first high school season playing for Arsenal Tech.
By his sophomore year, Martin was back in Northwest Indiana and working his way into the Calumet rotation. He averaged 6.1 points in nine games during the 2019-20 season.
That number jumped to a team-high 10.0 points during Martin’s junior season, and he’s up to 14.5 points per game this season. He scored 13 points in a 45-44 loss at Portage on Thursday.
Although coach Aaron Mercer is in his first season at Calumet, he had seen plenty of Martin already. Mercer coached at Whiting — another Greater South Shore Conference school — before taking over at Calumet and was impressed by Martin’s game.
“He’s a matchup nightmare,” Mercer said. “If you put a big on him, he’s going to get the ball at the point. If you put a small guy on him, he can post them up. He can knock down a 3(-pointer) and handle the ball. His versatility is the best I’ve seen in a long time.”
Now that Mercer has been around Martin every day at practice, Mercer has developed a newfound appreciation for what Martin does for the program between games.
More Top Picks Best Green Light Therapy Lamps For Migraines
“It’s the way he works at practice,” Mercer said. “That leadership is something I didn’t know about him from afar because you’re not there day-to-day with him. He leads by example.”
Trying to be more effective offensively this season, Martin said he worked extensively on how he attacks the rim when he gets the ball on the perimeter.
“I’ve been working on defense, too, but it was mostly about dribbling and having more control over the ball when I drive,” he said.
Calumet’s coaches trust Martin in key moments. Against Portage on Thursday, with the Warriors trailing by one point and with just one second left, an inbound pass went to Martin. His turnaround fadeaway from just inside the 3-point line rimmed out, much to his surprise.
“I thought it was going in,” Martin said.
He said attention to smaller details will ensure the Warriors can turn some of those one-point games into victories.
“Things like missing on box-outs and closing down on 3-point shooters,” he said. “We need to focus on those little things that matter.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.