Jeremiah Martin led the Memphis Tigers in their second exhibition win over the Christian Brothers University, 95-68. Martin, a 6-foot-3 forward, outshot all scorers in the game with 24 points.
Martin started the game scoring the Tiger's first 11 points and knocking down three consecutive three-point shots in the first five minutes. He said he felt confident and wanted to make CBU uncomfortable.
"I just felt like I could make every shot that I took," Martin said. "I was just kind of in the zone, that is why Coach Penny kept saying go back to me. Just when we have a fast start it puts pressure on the opposing team because one, they are already in unfamiliar territory, so just try to get the crowd in it."
Martin is one of the few returning seniors on the team, which is composed of young and inexperienced players, at the Division I level. Martin said he wants to be more energetic and help guide the new faces on the team.
"I'm just trying to do whatever it takes to lead the team," Martin said. "Coach wants me to be more vocal and a leader because we have a lot of young guys, and I'm just going to do whatever it takes."
Martin totaled 33 points and 11 assists in both exhibition games for Memphis. He said the team now has an idea of what to expect for the season.
"We got a feel for kind of what are real game would look like," Martin said. "This game was probably more challenging because they made us, you know, be disciplined and they are a very disciplined team and well coached. They just run their offense to perfection and I think it was great for us to see that this early because we may run into a team that runs that same offense but has better athletes."
Martin shot 9-12 from the field and knocked down 4-5 from the three-point line while totaling four assists against CBU. Hardaway said he liked watching Martin have a solid game against CBU.
"I was happy to see him have a good game," Hardaway said. "He really didn't have a great game last game. Last year with him shouldering a lot of the load, I wanted him to come out and have a good game before we got into the season. It was good to see him do that. He's preseason first team, and we are expecting that from him, to score the ball."
Martin said the opposition will be competitive once the regular season starts and playing against CBU’s offense would help prepare them to play against opponents that play utilizing similar styles.
Martin was awarded All-American Athletic second team honors last season, averaging 18.9 points and 3.8 assists. Martin started and played in 27 games for the Tigers but missed seven games because of injuries. Hardaway said Martin could relax more this year because of the assistance his team will give him.
"He doesn't have to do as much as he did last year because he has help," Hardaway said. "It was good to see him in his leadership tonight, see him scoring and the leadership that he brought to the game tonight."
