Photo by: Katie MacCrory
Martin Anxious To Make Long-Awaited Return To The Court
October 09, 2018 10:56 AM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The question was simple: what have you learned about yourself since your season-ending injury last summer?
Tynice Martin's answer wasn't simple, beginning with the deep sigh she made before responding.
"I've learned … that's it's a mental game," she began. "What am I going to do after basketball? Being around basketball for 21 years and then all of a sudden in a blink of an eye not having it just makes you think about plan B and plan C; what am I going to do after this because, apparently, I can't dribble a ball forever?'
It was plan A all the way for Martin last August when she was about to make the USA U23 National Team in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Then on the next-to-last day of tryouts, she pulled up for a jumper she has attempted thousands of time before, but this time she didn't stick the landing.
Far from it.
"I just panted my foot for a shot," Martin recalled. "I got the handoff and went up for the shot and the next thing I know when I came down something felt wrong."
She was diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury to her left foot where the pain resonates at the top of the foot and worsens when standing, walking or running. It's a complex injury that can involve many different joints and bones at the midfoot.
Her recovery was equally complex, eventually requiring a second surgery. Three months turned into six months and then to nine months, putting an end to her junior season.
Naturally, she was devastated.
"As soon as I got hurt everybody was on it," Martin recalled. "I had a support system. Coach (Mike) Carey and (senior associate athletic director) Terri Howes flew out the next day to help me around and keep my mind off the injury because that was the first time I had ever been injured.
"They knew how devastated I was," she continued. "Being where I was at the USA Trials, it was a big slap in the face for me because I got hurt the day before the team was picked. I was almost there."
Martin was arguably the Big 12's top returning player last year based on her 2017 Big 12 tournament performance when she scored 82 points, including 32 against second-ranked Baylor in the championship game to help the Mountaineers to a stunning, 77-66 victory.
Afterward, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey was effusive in her praise of Martin.
"Very few times in 31 years of coaching, can I ever think of one player that took her team on her shoulders and won three games and Tynice Martin did that," she said. "She did it every game here. She just elevated over people and made shots."
But five months after her amazing Big 12 performance, Martin was in the uncomfortable position of having to recover from an injury that more frequently happens to football players.
"In football it's very common because a lot of people plant and go up for catches and so forth," she explained.
Once Martin began to learn more about her injury, that led to even more research. What she discovered was a little unsettling.
"This is one of my biggest injuries of all-time, so of course I had to do some research," she said. "I will have to live with arthritis for the rest of my life now."
Martin said the way she prepares for practices and games has dramatically changed, but she refuses to accept that her left foot won't be as good as it once was.
What used to be easy and worry-free is now a much more difficult process, however.
"I'm never going to feel as good as I did, but that doesn't mean I can't work around to where I want to be," she explained. "I still jump as high. I still shoot. It's not like I lack anything, but the feeling isn't there, if that makes any sense.
"It doesn't feel good and I will have to do more things throughout the year," she added. "At halftime, I won't be able to just sit down and relax. I will have to be doing exercises and constant rehab."
Ice and heat have become her two best friends now.
What Martin is going through is an all-too-familiar sight for her coach, Mike Carey, who has seen more than his fair share of players endure injuries during his 17-year tenure at West Virginia.
The loss of Martin and her 18.6 points per game last year robbed the Mountaineers of another NCAA Tournament bid, for sure, and put Carey in scramble mode yet again.
Last season, he didn't have enough players to scrimmage and frequently had to monitor the workload of his top players during practice because of wear and tear and mounting injuries. Despite this, Carey still managed to win 25 games and see his team reach the WNIT semifinals.
He's probably going to have to do something similar with Martin this year.
"I think she's about 80 percent right now," he said. "She went two days hard and then she had soreness, so the third day I kind of sat her out half the practice. We don't play a game for a long time so I don't need to prove a point and she doesn't need to prove a point at this time. We're going to pay close attention, and if I see something I don't like with the way she's walking or jumping, then we'll pull her and sit her out."
Sitting and watching is not something Martin can do easily. Last year, she was like a caged tiger stalking the sidelines during practices in her walking boot.
She even took up boxing as a way to release all of her pent-up energy and frustration.
"Having an injury, you're kind of isolated because you're not doing what the others on the team are doing," she explained. "It's the fact of getting back into the chemistry, getting back into the lineup and getting back into the groove of the team … running as fast as they can, cutting as hard as they can and just giving my all."
The most frustrating part for her was actually being coddled by Carey, who is not known for his coddling. After an entire year of consoling, hugs and support from her coaches and teammates, she just wanted to be yelled at again just like everyone else.
"I was telling him that all year, 'I can't wait until you start yelling at me again.' He's like, 'You can wait, trust me' but we have that type of relationship," Martin laughed. "We have a close bond we've built since I was a freshman."
According to Carey, Martin is about to get her wish.
"I've kind of babied her a little bit lately but don't worry, that's coming," he chuckled. "She's really pushing it, and if that's the case, she's going to be really happy here in the next few days."
Which also means that Mike Carey is going to be the happiest yeller in college basketball once again because his best player is back to her old self.
Even having Tynice Martin back at 80 percent right now is far better than all of those 100-percent players who will be guarding her.
A perimeter that includes Martin, high-scoring Michigan transfer Kysre Gondrezick and seniors Katrina Pardee and Naomi Davenport gives West Virginia one of the most talented backcourts in the country.
It's enough to get Carey smiling, even when he's yelling.
"I think this team has a chance to be really good," he admitted. "I've always said guard play is important because they control everything – your offense, your defense, the speed going up and down the floor, so I think our guards are really strong."
And that begins with the long-awaited return of Tynice Martin.
"It's been a whole year and it was a very long year, not just for me but for the Mountaineers as well," she said. "I'm not the only one who had to deal with it. My teammates and my coaches had to deal with it as well."
That means plan B and plan C can remain on the backburner for now, because plan A is still alive and well for Martin.
Tynice Martin's answer wasn't simple, beginning with the deep sigh she made before responding.
"I've learned … that's it's a mental game," she began. "What am I going to do after basketball? Being around basketball for 21 years and then all of a sudden in a blink of an eye not having it just makes you think about plan B and plan C; what am I going to do after this because, apparently, I can't dribble a ball forever?'
It was plan A all the way for Martin last August when she was about to make the USA U23 National Team in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Then on the next-to-last day of tryouts, she pulled up for a jumper she has attempted thousands of time before, but this time she didn't stick the landing.
Far from it.
"I just panted my foot for a shot," Martin recalled. "I got the handoff and went up for the shot and the next thing I know when I came down something felt wrong."
She was diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury to her left foot where the pain resonates at the top of the foot and worsens when standing, walking or running. It's a complex injury that can involve many different joints and bones at the midfoot.
Her recovery was equally complex, eventually requiring a second surgery. Three months turned into six months and then to nine months, putting an end to her junior season.
Naturally, she was devastated.
"As soon as I got hurt everybody was on it," Martin recalled. "I had a support system. Coach (Mike) Carey and (senior associate athletic director) Terri Howes flew out the next day to help me around and keep my mind off the injury because that was the first time I had ever been injured.
"They knew how devastated I was," she continued. "Being where I was at the USA Trials, it was a big slap in the face for me because I got hurt the day before the team was picked. I was almost there."
Martin was arguably the Big 12's top returning player last year based on her 2017 Big 12 tournament performance when she scored 82 points, including 32 against second-ranked Baylor in the championship game to help the Mountaineers to a stunning, 77-66 victory.Afterward, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey was effusive in her praise of Martin.
"Very few times in 31 years of coaching, can I ever think of one player that took her team on her shoulders and won three games and Tynice Martin did that," she said. "She did it every game here. She just elevated over people and made shots."
But five months after her amazing Big 12 performance, Martin was in the uncomfortable position of having to recover from an injury that more frequently happens to football players.
"In football it's very common because a lot of people plant and go up for catches and so forth," she explained.
Once Martin began to learn more about her injury, that led to even more research. What she discovered was a little unsettling.
"This is one of my biggest injuries of all-time, so of course I had to do some research," she said. "I will have to live with arthritis for the rest of my life now."
Martin said the way she prepares for practices and games has dramatically changed, but she refuses to accept that her left foot won't be as good as it once was.
What used to be easy and worry-free is now a much more difficult process, however.
"I'm never going to feel as good as I did, but that doesn't mean I can't work around to where I want to be," she explained. "I still jump as high. I still shoot. It's not like I lack anything, but the feeling isn't there, if that makes any sense.
"It doesn't feel good and I will have to do more things throughout the year," she added. "At halftime, I won't be able to just sit down and relax. I will have to be doing exercises and constant rehab."
Ice and heat have become her two best friends now.
What Martin is going through is an all-too-familiar sight for her coach, Mike Carey, who has seen more than his fair share of players endure injuries during his 17-year tenure at West Virginia.
The loss of Martin and her 18.6 points per game last year robbed the Mountaineers of another NCAA Tournament bid, for sure, and put Carey in scramble mode yet again.
Last season, he didn't have enough players to scrimmage and frequently had to monitor the workload of his top players during practice because of wear and tear and mounting injuries. Despite this, Carey still managed to win 25 games and see his team reach the WNIT semifinals.
He's probably going to have to do something similar with Martin this year.
"I think she's about 80 percent right now," he said. "She went two days hard and then she had soreness, so the third day I kind of sat her out half the practice. We don't play a game for a long time so I don't need to prove a point and she doesn't need to prove a point at this time. We're going to pay close attention, and if I see something I don't like with the way she's walking or jumping, then we'll pull her and sit her out."
Sitting and watching is not something Martin can do easily. Last year, she was like a caged tiger stalking the sidelines during practices in her walking boot.
She even took up boxing as a way to release all of her pent-up energy and frustration.
"Having an injury, you're kind of isolated because you're not doing what the others on the team are doing," she explained. "It's the fact of getting back into the chemistry, getting back into the lineup and getting back into the groove of the team … running as fast as they can, cutting as hard as they can and just giving my all."
The most frustrating part for her was actually being coddled by Carey, who is not known for his coddling. After an entire year of consoling, hugs and support from her coaches and teammates, she just wanted to be yelled at again just like everyone else.
"I was telling him that all year, 'I can't wait until you start yelling at me again.' He's like, 'You can wait, trust me' but we have that type of relationship," Martin laughed. "We have a close bond we've built since I was a freshman."
According to Carey, Martin is about to get her wish.
"I've kind of babied her a little bit lately but don't worry, that's coming," he chuckled. "She's really pushing it, and if that's the case, she's going to be really happy here in the next few days."
Which also means that Mike Carey is going to be the happiest yeller in college basketball once again because his best player is back to her old self.
Even having Tynice Martin back at 80 percent right now is far better than all of those 100-percent players who will be guarding her.
A perimeter that includes Martin, high-scoring Michigan transfer Kysre Gondrezick and seniors Katrina Pardee and Naomi Davenport gives West Virginia one of the most talented backcourts in the country.
It's enough to get Carey smiling, even when he's yelling.
"I think this team has a chance to be really good," he admitted. "I've always said guard play is important because they control everything – your offense, your defense, the speed going up and down the floor, so I think our guards are really strong."
And that begins with the long-awaited return of Tynice Martin.
"It's been a whole year and it was a very long year, not just for me but for the Mountaineers as well," she said. "I'm not the only one who had to deal with it. My teammates and my coaches had to deal with it as well."
That means plan B and plan C can remain on the backburner for now, because plan A is still alive and well for Martin.
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