Plano’s Isaiah Martinez is not your average tall boy.
On track in late August 2022 to be one of the next big things in basketball coming out of Kendall County, a knee injury requiring surgery sidelined Martinez for his sophomore season and slowed his early development.
Fortunately, it only appears to have delayed the inevitable.
A 6-foot-10 junior forward/center with much more than a post game, Martinez is getting his career back on track, averaging team highs of 11.3 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Reapers (8-9).
“It’s a process,” Plano coach Kyle Kee said. “Isaiah has struggled to put back-to-back games together at times. He seems to still be getting used to playing, but he’s a lot further along at this point than I thought he would be.
“His teammates are learning to play with him. He can shoot from three and face the basket, but there’s times I’d like him to be a little more active and times we think he needs to be down in the post more.”
Martinez also averages 2.1 blocked shots and an assist while shooting 41.2% (14 of 34) from 3-point range for the Reapers, who made a surprise run to the championship game of their Christmas tournament despite not being seeded in the 16-team event.
Plano has never won the tourney in its 60 years.
Not much was expected, especially with the Reapers coming off losses to Kaneland and Yorkville leading up to the event.
Those setbacks, and some ramped up practices Kee described as “old school,” served to inspire his team.
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Plano upset three seeded teams to reach the final, then lost 55-53 to top-seeded Kaneland on a 3-pointer from Troyer Carlson with 3.3 seconds remaining for the Knights’ only lead in the game.
Kee was impressed with the defensive work Martinez did in that game. Matched up with 6-6 Freddy Hassan, who was voted tourney MVP, Martinez had six blocked shots.
“They were going at it all night — it was quite a battle,” Kee said. “Isaiah did a nice job of staying vertical and not swatting at the ball. He had great position.”
Martinez has played AAU since eighth grade with NBA star Fred VanVleet’s Rockford-based FVV Elite program and is coached by Joe Danforth, stepdad of the Houston Rockets point guard. He continues to progress from the injury.
Martinez said he tore the medial patellofemoral ligament while playing at Chris Paul’s CP3 Rising Stars Camp he had been invited to attend in North Carolina.
“It’s the ligament that holds your kneecap in place from the inside,” Martinez said. “I got hit on my knee, and it popped out and tore. They say it’s not as bad as an ACL tear. I had to get the muscles around it stronger with rehab as well.”
He had been looking forward to the Yorkville game and facing the 6-10 Jason Jakstys, who committed in the summer to Illinois.
Jakstys also has a versatile, all-around game. The two post players had never met on the court.
“I had that game circled on my calendar,” Martinez said. “Unfortunately, the outcome as a team didn’t go how we’d have liked.”
He did outscore Jakstys 17-15 and had an 8-6 rebounding edge, but with the game well in hand in an eventual 63-38 win, the Yorkville standout didn’t play much of the fourth quarter.
“I feel like it kind of showed I can hang with other good big men,” Martinez said. “(Jakstys) is a great player. I can definitely see why he has that offer and is going to Illinois.”
Martinez said he was 6-2 to 6-3 in eighth grade, grew to 6-5 coming into freshman year and hopes he hasn’t stopped.
“I’d like to grow two more inches and get to 7-foot,” he said. “But I want to be more versatile. I want to be able to do everything.
“Now, I want to get faster, more explosive, put on some muscle, and like everybody needs to do, work on the handles.”
Kee can foresee it.
“Missing last year, there’s been some growing pains,” he said. “When you’re 6-10, they’re going to be physical and try to push you out.
“He’s getting there.”