It had been his home for the past four seasons and Kelan Martin wanted to say goodbye to Hinkle Fieldhouse in the only way he saw fit for such an occasion - with a memorable performance on Senior Night.
So after he dropped a game-high 26 points on Creighton to help Butler post a 93-70 win to avenge a previous loss to the Bluejays earlier this season, Martin just tried to take it all in and soak up the memories all while wishing his final home game would last just a little longer.
“It was a really emotional night, playing my last game at Hinkle in front of all those fans,” said Martin, the heart of this 19-win Bulldogs team. “The four years here went by fast.”
Martin, Butler’s 6-7, 220-pound senior, has accomplished a lot during his four seasons as one of the finest to ever don a Bulldogs uniform. He is currently fifth on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,909 points, with an outside shot at finishing with over 2,000, has knocked down over 200 three-pointers in his career while logging 683 rebounds. And with two regular-season games left at St. John’s and at Seton Hall, he should finish with over 700 career caroms. In BIG EAST games, he has scored 1,039 points. Only 42 players in league history have reach 1,000.
But with all he’s accomplished in his career and in a stellar senior season which sees him leading the BIG EAST in scoring in conference games at 23.3 points per game, while sitting third overall in scoring (20.9), third in free throw percentage (87.7%), and eighth in both rebounds (6.4) and made three-pointers (76) while also leading Butler in scoring and rebounding the past two seasons, has Martin’s season somehow gone a bit unnoticed as Villanova and Xavier have hogged the national spotlight within the conference?
“Yeah, but I’ve felt like that my whole life,” Martin said. “But I just go out there and play. I don’t really worry about it. I just go out there and play and try to get our team a win.”
Martin enjoys the big stage and the big moment. Just this season alone has seen him drop 24 points with eight rebounds on Villanova in a 101-93 victory over the Wildcats. And even in a 86-75 loss at Villanova, Martin poured in 30 points with a career-best eight three-pointers. And let’s not forget that thrilling 67-66 victory over Ohio State and former Butler coach Chris Holtmann back in November, a victory that was sealed with Martin’s contested layup with four seconds to play.
One of his career highlights, by the way.
“Yeah, I would say beating Ohio State was one of my highlights,” Martin said. But when he was reminded that the Bulldogs went to the Sweet 16 last year, he added that to his list as well. “Yeah, there’s the Sweet 16, too, because my first two years we always made it to the Round of 32 but we had never been past there.”
Much like Martin, Butler tends to be on the shadows more often than not. At least until NCAA Tournament time when the Bulldogs inevitably make some March noise that makes the college basketball world take notice once again. Nothing has changed this time around for Butler, according to Martin.
“Most definitely, but it happens every year with us,” Martin said. “We’re always under the radar. But when tournament time comes, we just go and prove all the doubters wrong. This year we’re 19-10 and we’re under the radar once again. But we proved to people that we can play with anybody in the country.”
Last season Butler swept Villanova and split with the Wildcats this year. No other team can put that on their respective resumes.
“I think people don’t believe we have a lot of talent but we definitely have enough that can win you games,” Martin said. “It’s not always about talent, it’s about who is out there playing hard and giving their all.”
Aside from team goals, Martin has one personal one that he is fairly confident he will fulfill this season. After two straight years of landing on the All-BIG EAST Second Team, Martin thinks he has earned a spot on the coveted first team.
“Yeah no doubt, I think I do deserve it this year and I’m feeling very confident about it,” Martin said.
With the calendar soon to flip to March, a month that has held a lot of Butler magic over the years, can Martin and this Bulldogs team make another spirited tournament run like last season’s Sweet 16 team did?
“Yeah I think so,” Martin said. “I think we still have a lot of gas in the tank and we’re just going to keep our foot on the gas pedal and give it our all. It’s tournament time, when we prove everybody wrong when we knock big teams off.”
The Bulldogs have those two regular-season games remaining followed by the BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden next month and then the NCAA’s annual soiree. But Martin said he hopes the next few weeks go by painfully slow so he can savor his final days as a Butler player.
“Yeah because it’s going by tremendously fast,” Martin said. “We got this weekend off because we don’t have any games but we’re just hoping to win as many games as possible.”
And whenever Butler’s season comes to an end, and Martin has called it a career as a Bulldog, he knows what he’ll miss most of all.
“Playing at Hinkle,” Martin said. “There’s no place like Hinkle, playing in front of a loud crowd with great fans. My parents get to come up every game. That’s just something I’m going to miss tremendously.”