It's taken more than three seasons worth of hard work, but Memphis senior guard Jeremiah Martin is finally getting widespread recognition for how good and important he's been to that program.
And in Penny Hardaway's first season on the job, Martin is proving to be the most important piece in a year of optimistic transition.
The lone holdover from the Josh Pastner era, Martin is CBS Sports' National Player of the Week in light of his dominant two-game stretch last week in which he averaged 40.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.5 steals.
Most importantly, Memphis went 2-0 with defeats at home against Tulane and on the road vs. Wichita State. Martin dropped 43 on the Green Wave, becoming the first player in Memphis history to have 40 or more points twice in a season. (Martin scored 41 on Feb. 2 against USF.) His 43-point game was also the highest of any college player in the history of FedExForum.
Per Memphis: "Martin is one of three players in Memphis history with 1,400 points and 200 steals (Elliot Perry, Andre Turner). He is averaging 30.7 points in the month of February."
On the season, Martin is averaging 19.0 points, 4.4 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals. He's unquestionably been a top-three player in the AAC in this the final season of his college career.
As he keeps piling up points, Martin is within shouting distance of the top-10 scoring list in school history. The 17-11 Tigers are 9-6 in conference play and still have a shot at making the NIT -- or the NCAAs, if they can win the American Athletic Conference tournament, which happens to be in Memphis this year.
