San Francisco — When Dasti left FA to take the vacancy of Michigan last season, it was logical for some of his players to look for Anne Arbor. One of the players he might coach in the FAU was the current Florida star, Alija Martin, who entered the transfer portal weeks after leaving the program in May.
When Martin entered the portal, he did it with “Don’t call” that he would appoint a player or his representatives already have a short list of accepted places.
It would certainly be logical for Martin to follow the coach he called a “father’s wife”, but that wasn’t something. Martin made an official visit to Ole Miss, which is located less than 200 miles from his hometown of Smat, Mississippi and Florida.
Martin’s representatives had a conversation with May about a possibility of transfer to Michigan, he told CBS Sport, but eventually chose to finish his college in Florida.
“May, the coach, has definitely reached out to my people,” Martin told CBS Sport. “He knew a kind of trying, spreading my wings, getting some new coaches and learning some new things from different coaches because I was with him for four years. He was a father’s personality for me.
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That difficult decision would reward Martin. When Martin and Florida first placed the stadium at Texas Taki, Texas Teek, the first time a player at Elite 8 began for several teams.
Martin moved to Todd Golden last season and has become an integral part of the program. After participating in the 2023 NCAA tournament with UV in Golden Season and ending in the first season in the spring of last year, Geiters is now in the final for the first time in 2014.
Martin is the third player in basketball history in colleges to reach the finals with two different programs. The last player to do so was Steve Krafsini, former North Carolina, who reached the final with Tar Hills in 1977 and in 1980 at Ayowa.
Mason Gilles joined the club on Saturday when he beat Alabama.
After fau entered the fourth final in 2023, Golden, Martin, Jonel Davis and Nick Boyde were among the main players who returned for another season. Fau played 25-9 in the 2023-24 season and lost to North Western in the first round of the NCAA.
“We all sacrificed,” Martin said. “After the last four years, we decided to return and do all this. We all could have spread our wings and go to other places and we got more money. We were all caught together because we believed in something bigger.
Martin has made 34 games for Giters this season and has a total of 14.6 points and assists. He is one of the three Florida squad for at least 100 appearances in his career.
Although he is no longer the coach of Davis or Martin, he may still monitor his former players.
“Obviously Alija, Nelly and Vlade, they are the kind of rivals that affect winning and improve those around them,” May told a news conference Thursday. “They were just in a new situation, it was nice to look at.
Davis contacted his former FAU friend as the only basketball player in college to start a game of the eighth to two programs. Davis lost 30 points and 85-83 away to Red Reiders, one of whom took the lead in the second half on 16 points.
The fact that the two previous two-star stars were on the verge of making history, highlighting how it can become a norm in the era of the transition gate soon. Martin is known as the first player to do so and his decision to come to Florida on Michigan and Ole Miss is the reason.