Saints freshman chases hoop dream

 

Delanee Martin, a breakout player for the Mt. Hood women’s basketball team this year, would much rather throw herself into a game than passively sit and watch one.

Lucky for the Saints, the freshman hasn’t been sitting much at all.

Averaging 28 minutes per game, the 6-foot tall forward accounts for about 10 points, four rebounds and 1.6 steals every contest.

Martin grew up in Eugene, the youngest of four children with two older sisters and a brother. She gained her love for basketball from watching her older sisters play when she was very young.

She began playing in grade school, eventually making it to AAU basketball.

“AAU is what I really liked. It was the best time of my life,” Martin said. Her AAU team traveled all over the U.S. “We knew each other’s strengths, and we fed off of each other. We were all best friends, we played really well together.”

Martin was playing basketball year-round in high school. She then red-shirted at Northwest Christian University in 2013-14, but she wanted to get out of Eugene and try her best, with two years of eligibility at MHCC.

Later, she wants to see if she can take her basketball career even further, maybe two more years at an NAIA-level school, she said.

Martin chose Mt. Hood because it was still in Oregon, and it’s her first year away from home. There have been challenges; a self-described introvert, she said “it’s tough to make new friends.”

She said her best friend is her dad, whom she admires a great deal. “I couldn’t have asked for better parents. My parents set a perfect example for me,” she said. She also looks up to her older sister, part of a very close-knit family she misses very much.

While in high school Martin ran cross country, a sport she enjoys. “I wasn’t very good, but I liked it,” she said. She  thought about competing at Mt. Hood in cross country, she said, but called herself “out of shape.”

She agreed with the idea that women play more of a “team game” than men. “I think girls are a lot more structured, and play a more team-oriented game,” she said.

Believe it or not, Martin does not enjoy watching others play basketball, period. She has no favorite NBA or WNBA player or team. “I don’t watch games. I’d rather play, watching is kind of frustrating,” she said.

Asked the first person she thinks of at the word “basketball,” she replied, “My AAU coach. He has had such a big impact on the player that I am.”

All during high school Martin wanted to be a nutritionist or a personal trainer. “Now that I’m in college, I have absolutely no idea what I want to be or what I want to do,” she said. Fortunately she has plenty of time to decide on a career after basketball.

Martin has a never-say-die attitude on the court. “If you are playing bad, instead of giving up, finish strong,” she said. “If I do that, then I know I gave it all I got.”

She said she’s been inspired by Shadow Kendrick, a Saints sophomore player whose career was ended by injury seven games into the season. As “ ‘The Voice of the Team,’ Shadow really pumps us up,” Martin said, smiling. “She always has something positive to say; she is the voice of everything.” Martin said she is heartbroken for her teammate, and appreciates how well Kendrick handled her adversity.

The Saints continue to demonstrate some fight, too.

After back-to-back seasons with only two wins, Mt. Hood has earned five victories this season, with one more game remaining (Saturday, at Umpqua Community College). Saints fans can expect to see Martin back on the court next year, and better than ever. With her two closest teammates also being freshmen – point guard Jesse Morris and guard/forward Lacey Weddle – things are looking up, especially with her steady presence.

Martin, an optimist who sees the good in everything and cares about those who she is close to, is aware of her opportunity to affect others. “I can set a good example,” she said.