Remy Martin withdraws from NBA draft, will play 2021-22 season at Kansas

By Matt Tait     Jul 6, 2021

AP Photo/Darryl Webb
In this Feb. 22, 2020, file photo, Arizona State's Remy Martin (1) shows his feelings after a run by his Sun Devils against Oregon State during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Tempe, Ariz.

The final piece of the Kansas basketball roster for the 2021-22 season is now in place, as Arizona State point guard Remy Martin has withdrawn his name from the NBA draft pool and will attend Kansas.

CBS Sports Insider Jon Rothstein was the first to report the news on Tuesday afternoon.

News of Martin’s decision surfaced roughly six hours after KU senior Ochai Agbaji announced similar plans to return to KU for the 2021-22 season.

Both players had until 10:59 p.m. Wednesday to withdraw their name from the NBA draft and return to school with their eligibility in tact.

“I was blessed with the opportunity to put my name in the draft,” Martin said in a news release sent out Tuesday evening. “The main objective was to learn what I needed to do to get better and try to be the best player I can be. It was pretty easy when it came to Kansas (and) playing for such a historic program and a Hall of Fame coach. I want to be a part of it. I want to be part of the brotherhood and help the team win as much as I can.”

Agbaji performed well in some areas of the NBA combine last month but also struggled at times. And Martin, who averaged 19.1 points a game for Arizona State during each of the past two seasons, was not invited to the combine.

That duo joins Jalen Wilson in returning to Kansas after testing the NBA waters. Wilson, who joined Agbaji in KU’s starting lineup throughout last season, announced his plans to return late last week.

In Martin, Kansas gets a true point guard with the potential to make everyone around him better. He’s a natural scorer and lightning quick with and without the ball. He’s also known as a fierce competitor and natural leader.

“Remy is a guy that had great success at Arizona State,” KU coach Bill Self said in the release. “We saw him up close on two different occasions where he got the best of us. I’m certainly glad he’s on our side moving forward. I think those are all reasons to be excited about him coming here and helping our basketball team achieve special things this upcoming season.”

Martin will provide the 2021-22 Jayhawks with something they lacked a season ago. Although Marcus Garrett was capable of running the show in many ways, he spent his senior season playing a bit out of position and was never viewed as a true point guard.

Martin is, and his quickness, solid outside stroke and ability to get into the paint and create for others should make the Jayhawks one of the toughest teams in the country.

Martin comes to Kansas after a stellar career at Arizona State, where he scored nearly 2,000 points in four seasons and was a two-time first-team all-Pac 12 selection after averaging 19.1 points per game during both his junior and senior seasons.

Martin also averaged 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game last season and 5 assists and 1.3 steals per game during the 2019-20 season.

Martin and Agbaji became the second and third Jayhawks in the past week to opt out of the draft in favor of a return to Kansas. Sophomore Jalen Wilson announced his decision to pull out of the draft last Friday.

KU now has 14 scholarship players and four walk-ons on the roster for the 2021-22 season. The Jayhawks are allowed one more than the limit of 13 because senior forward Mitch Lightfoot’s super senior season — granted because of the pandemic — will not count against KU’s final number.

The Jayhawks unofficially open the season with Late Night in the Phog on Oct. 1 and will tip things off for real on Nov. 9 against Michigan State in the Champions Classic in New York City.

2021-22 Kansas Basketball Roster

G – Remy Martin, Sr.^

G – Ochai Agbaji, Sr.

G – Chris Teahan, Sr.*

G – Jalen Coleman-Lands, Sr.^

F – Mitch Lightfoot, Sr.^

F – David McCormack, Sr.

F – Cam Martin, Sr.^

G – Christian Braun, Jr.

G – Michael Jankovich, Jr.*

F – Jalen Wilson, Soph.

G – Dajuan Harris, Soph.

G – Joseph Yesufu, Soph.

G – Bobby Pettiford Jr., Fr.

G – Kyle Cuffe Jr., Fr.

F – KJ Adams, Fr.

F – Zach Clemence, Fr.

G – Charlie McCarthy, Fr.*

F – Dillon Wilhite, Fr.*

^ super senior

* walk-on

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.