Kansas guard Remy Martin has scored just 22 points on 10 made shots since Jan. 1 because of the bone bruise in his right knee that has kept him out of several games and limited his effectiveness in others.
Despite being stuck in street clothes instead of his KU uniform of late, Martin still has managed to find a way to impact the team even while injured.
“He’s the best on the bench,” KU coach Bill Self said during Tuesday’s episode of his “Hawk Talk” radio show. “He’s great.”
Self has shared that sentiment with Martin, who has been one of the more vocal players on the KU bench in recent weeks, using his experience and off-the-court perspective to try to help his teammates.
“I said, ‘I’m proud of you because you found a way to put your handprint on what we’re doing and not be out there,'” Self said of his message to Martin. “That’s hard for athletes to do, to find your own niche (when you’re not playing).”
Self said he has had similar conversations with many of KU’s walk-ons from the past and he has been just as pleased with the efforts in that area from the high-profile Martin as he was with players like Tyler Self, Evan Manning, Nico Roberts and others.
“It’s really positive how good he is on the bench, talking guys through things,” Self said. “He’s really a bright kid. He’s really smart. And I do think he’s been very, very helpful and positive. That’s been fun to watch.”
Check out KU’s bench at any point throughout a game and there’s a good chance you’ll see some kind of activity from Martin. He seems to get out of his seat as often as Self. He has shouted instructions and encouragement to the Jayhawks on the floor throughout recent games. And his favorite move seems to be reminding his teammates on the floor to huddle together after fouls, before free throws or whenever a dead ball allows for it. He does this by bunching his fingers on each hand and bringing the two together.
The Jayhawks see and hear it all and believe that it’s making a difference.
“We appreciate his support,” senior forward Mitch Lightfoot said after KU’s recent home win over Baylor. “It means a lot to us. He’s been around and he does know some things that can help us. So it’s good to have him out there helping us.”
The goal, of course, is for Martin to return to helping Kansas on the court at some point in the not-too-distant future.
[Self said earlier this week that Martin would not play Saturday versus Oklahoma,][1] but the hope was that he could be ready by the end of next week. That would mean at least two more missed games for Martin because KU plays host to Oklahoma State on Monday, two days after the Saturday showdown with the Sooners.
Self said Tuesday that those in the program, including Martin, remained optimistic about his return. And the hope was that he could come back a couple of weeks before the postseason arrives, giving him time to work out whatever rust might be present and rekindle some chemistry with the rest of the Jayhawks’ lineup.
In the meantime, Self said Martin will continue to do what he can to help his teammates, and he added that Martin has taken a particular interest in helping Joe Yesufu find his footing.
“He really wants Joe to be successful,” Self said.
Yesufu has done just that in the past 10 days, handling a larger role and playing some of the minutes that have been available with Martin sidelined. Self made sure to point out, though, that no one on the roster sees the situation as Yesufu auditioning to take Martin’s spot.
“It’s not replacing him,” Self said. “It’s a guy playing his minutes in his absence. I don’t think Remy’s worried about that at all. I think what he’s most concerned about is just our team doing well. We need Joe to play because we can’t play Ochai (Agbaji) 40 minutes. We can’t play these other guys 40 minutes. So we need Joe to do what he’s doing in addition to Remy being back.”
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2022/feb/08/kansas-guard-remy-martin-ruled-out-saturday-vs-okl/
