After solidifying their frontcourt with the first two transfer portal additions the Gators bolstered their perimeter on Sunday as FAU guard Alijah Martin announced his commitment to the Gators. While Sam Alexis and Rueben Chinyelu had a number of great programs to commit to they weren’t recruited at the same level as Martin who chose the Gators over Michigan, Alabama, Arkansas, and Ole Miss, making this Florida’s biggest splash so far of the offseason.
While many mid-major studs really make their name known once they hit the transfer portal and start getting recruited by blue blood program, Martin is a rare mid-major player that was known by fans across the country. Florida Atlantic was a team known largely for their defense–and Martin was the heartbeat of that defense. Despite being only 6’2” and 215 pounds he would guard whoever the most threatening perimeter player was on the opposing team, whether that was an electric 5’10” speedster or a physical mid-post 6’7” wing. Martin is fast enough to hang with smaller guards while big enough to bang with forwards and it made him one of the best defensive players in the country. For a Florida team that was desperate to improve their defense after a porous effort in 2023-24, Martin is someone who instantly makes them infinitely better on that end.
Martin is a bulldog who also likes to compete on the glass. Despite being only 6’2” he is always in the mix for missed shots and if he isn’t able to grab the ball above much taller players in the lane, he’ll wait for them to bring the ball down near their waist to poke it away. Everything about Martin is scrappiness and competitiveness as he finds ways to win.
His biggest strength might be perimeter defense, but he’s someone who brings some punch offensively as well. While he’s not an excellent ball handler (more on that later), he is someone who can attack in straight lines when the ball is swung to him, and those opportunities are nearly always there for him because of the threat of his shooting. Martin is a career 37% three-point shooter on over 5 attempts per game, and defenders are constantly close out long to take away those shots which can lead to straight line drives down the lane.
In 2023-24, Martin averaged 13.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.6 steals.
Of course, in addition to the offensive and defensive capabilities–Martin has the valuable experience of a deep NCAA Tournament run, playing an important role in Florida Atlantic’s 2023 Final Four run. His Tournament was punctuated in the Final Four game against San Diego State where he had 26 points and 7 rebounds, nearly willing the Owls to a win.
In the last two years Martin has played in six NCAA Tournament games. Florida as a program has been in seven NCAA Tournament games in the past seven years. So, needless to say–that kind of experience is going to be valuable.
Throughout his college career Martin has been somewhat of a unique player, in that he might be the size of a point guard but he has generally filled a small forward role for the Owls spacing the floor and guarding 2’s and 3’s defensively. He has never played the point guard position, but at 6’2” if he wants to reach his NBA dreams–he’ll probably need to be a point guard. There is an understanding that Florida will give him an opportunity to play the lead guard position and take on some ball handling opportunities, and this was part of the reason Martin chose the Gators over some of his other possible landing spots. With that being the case–Florida’s starting backcourt could be set at this moment with Martin joining Walter Clayton who is currently going through the NBA Draft process but is expected to be back.