After a 26 year drought, Northwestern returned to the NBA Draft last June when Brooks Barnhizer was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 44th overall pick. Evan Eschmeyer, in 1999, had been the most recent Wildcat selected. Now Nick Martinelli, the nation’s leading scorer, could follow Barnhizer to the NBA this June.
Northwestern basketball head coach Chris Collins perfectly outlined exactly what it is that Martinelli must do.
“I think the key for Nick, it’s just to let that play out,” Collins said at a media opportunity ahead of Northwestern’s 79-68 loss at home to #13 Illinois.
“Because that’ll take care of itself, and not play in college, thinking about, I got to show this, or I got to show that. That was the beauty of Brooks. he was just trying to win.
“When he was throwing his body around or going to the boards or making plays, you know he was just trying to win. And people see that, and you know, that’s what NBA teams want.
“You have your max players, and you have these all-star caliber and then you got to fill a team with dirty work guys that are going to do things, and Nick fits that mold.”
According to Ratings.org, Nick Martinelli is projected to go more less around the same range as Barnhizer, perhaps in the mid-to-late second round.
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood keyed in on the 6-7 senior, as all opposing teams do, but Martinelli still got his; as he always does.
Martinelli led the Cats in scoring with 20 points, on 5-12 from the floor.
“He’s so efficient, it’s hard to hold him down,” Underwood said in postgame.
Collins believes that vocal leadership is the number one thing that Nick Martinelli needs to work on, in order to level up to the NBA.
“And I think those last 10 games last year when Brooks and Jalen (Leach) went down (with injury) it forced him to take that on,” Collins said.
“And I’ve seen a lot of growth in him, using his voice, being good with the younger guys, being good with the new guys, and kind of being that vocal leader that we need to be in addition to being our best player.”
Glenbrook Rivalry
As a fun aside, it’s worth noting that Martinelli played his prep ball at Glenbrook South High School, rival to the alma mater of Collins, who played for Glenbrook North High School.
The pair have a friendly rivalry thing going on, from time to time, with that. Once in a great while, Martinelli and Coach Collins jab at each other with the Glenbrook rivalry.
“I’m a little, you know, far from those days now,” Martinelli said. “But you know every once in a while he’ll find something to tick me off.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.