Martinez Trying to Return to the 'Old Me'

Perhaps its an interesting accessory to the uniform, but the bulky black and blue knee brace Freddie Martinez wears on his still healing right leg is a part of the ensemble the senior sharp shooter would just as soon not have. But for now it remains. "My leg is strong," says Martinez. "But its not as stable without the brace. So for now Ive still got to use it." Martinez has had to use the brace for the past 10 months. Two devastating knee injuries over the last two seasons forced him in to it and put a screeching halt to a skyrocketing Blue Raider career. As a freshman under Coach Randy Wiel, Martinez played in all 31 Blue Raider contests and contributed with nearly 15 minutes a game. During a stretch of four games, he drilled a school-record nine consecutive three pointers. The next season as a starter, Martinez blistered the nets by hitting three or more three pointers in a game eight times. He scored in double figures 20 times and posted a career-high 24 points in a win over UT Martin. But the graph that was on such a serious upward spike took a dramatic nose-dive the following season. Martinez played in only five games before a knee injury forced him to miss the rest of the year. And last year, after returning from the long lay off, Martinez managed to play six games before tearing the ACL in the right knee and again, ending his season prematurely. "Im not 100 percent yet," Martinez maintains. "But Im feeling pretty good and I guess Im about 80 to 85 percent. Im just trying to get back in game shape. Ive just got to keep working." So far the knee has felt good enough to start each regular season game this year. Although Coach Wiel appears to be experimenting at other positions to find the best combination of players for a given situation, Martinez seems to be a consistent piece of the equation. He is currently leading the Blue Raiders in scoring with a 12.4 points per game average and scored 20 points against Central Florida to register the highest point total on the team this season. His long-range shooting seems to have returned to form as well as he is knocking down treys at a 45.8 percent clip. No one hopes that more than Martinez. "Im just trying to get back the old form," he says. "When I shoot, when I play, when I run. Im not thinking about everything that has happened. Im just thinking about trying to get a little more used to it and get a little stronger so I can get back to the old me." But hopefully, as a slew of new players take the court for Coach Wiel for the first time this season, Martinez will be able to ease back into his role as a scorer and not feel the urgency to rush his return. "I think my role will be to score this year," he explained. "But I think I can contribute in other ways too. I dont believe anybody will have to step up and score 20 points consistently every night. Guys will start to step up. It just depends on what the other team gives us. Shooters will have their nights and the low post guys will have theirs."

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

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