Former KU guard Jeff Boschee influential in Jayhawks landing transfer Cam Martin
Cam Martin, an NCAA Division II All-America power forward and unanimous first-team all-league pick from Missouri Southern, attracted so much interest from Big 12 schools as a possible graduate transfer that his coach, Kansas grad Jeff Boschee, figured he better make an important phone call.
“TCU called me and then Cam told me Texas had called and offered. I kind of felt obligated to tell my alma mater. I sent Jeremy Case (of KU staff) a highlight tape. Coach (Bill) Self called me raving about it,” Boschee said Wednesday after the 6-foot-9, 240-pound Martin announced his decision to play his final season of college basketball at KU.
Self obviously was convinced Martin’s 25.0 point and 9.1 rebound averages would translate well to Division I basketball.
“It was actually a quick process. We got on Zoom last night (Tuesday). We had a great conversation. As soon as I talked to Coach Self my mind was made up. I decided I didn’t want to waste anybody’s time. I wanted to go to Kansas,” said Martin, who chose the Jayhawks over Texas, UNLV, Creighton, Georgetown, Colorado State and Stetson.
“He (Self) sees me at the 4 or 5. There are a lot of things they can do with me,” added Martin, who last season hit 209 of 361 floor shots for 57.9%, including 49 of 110 threes (44.5%). He made 73.8% of his free throws (107 of 145).
Martin is Missouri Southern’s second-leading career scorer with 2,040 points.
“He is a natural scorer,” Boschee said. “He can stretch the floor. He scored despite being double-teamed, triple-teamed. He’s a good passer as well.”
Martin, who played high school ball in Yukon, Oklahoma, transferred to Missouri Southern after one year at Jacksonville State. He played three years at MSSU and is taking advantage of an NCAA rule that allows players another year of eligibility amid the pandemic.
“I bring a winning attitude and am an unselfish player who wants to do whatever I can to win,” said Martin, who has been compared to Nikola Jokic of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets.
“Coach Boschee helped me so much. He spent so much time with me on shooting. It’s pretty good having KU’s best shooter ever help you with your shot,” Martin added.
Boschee, speaking in a phone interview from Mexico where he’s vacationing, spoke glowingly of Martin’s ability to score.
“He can shoot it, stretch the floor, bring bigs out on the perimeter,” Boschee said. “Last summer we had him work on his perimeter game a lot. He expanded that. He can put the ball on the floor, get by people.
“The biggest thing is how fast will he adjust to the speed of the (Division I) game. Being there all summer, he’ll definitely work on his ballscreen defense. He’s so big. He can do it and of course playing for Coach Self he’ll improve on that.”
Boschee added that Marin is “a great kid from a great family … I’m extremely happy for him, Once I found out everybody was getting this year back (via NCAA rule) I knew he shouldn’t come back to our place, that he could move up. He had a great year, a great career, did unbelievable things for our program. He did some things that won’t be duplicated.”
KU currently has one scholarship available to give in recruiting after freshman power forward Gethro Muscadin decided Wednesday to transfer. Muscadin, a 6-foot-10, 220-pound native of Gonaives, Haiti, played sparingly his one season at KU. He played 32 total minutes in 12 games. KU earlier this week lost Tyon Grant-Foster and Tristan Enaruna to the transfer portal.
The Jayhawks have been recruiting a senior high school point guard in TyTy Washington, 6-4, 180-pounds from Compass Prep School in Chandler, Arizona, and former KC Roos point guard Brandon McKissic, who also has Missouri and Kansas State on his list of possible transfer destinations.
In addition to Martin’s pledge, KU has signed Zach Clemence, a 6-10, 205-pound senior forward from Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas, and K.J. Adams, a 6-7, 220-pound senior power forward from Westlake High in Austin, Texas. KU also has received a commitment from junior college power forward Sydney Curry, 6-8, 265 pounds out of Logan Community College in Carterville, Illinois. Clemence is ranked No. 35 and Adams No. 73 nationally by Rivals.com.
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 3:16 PM.
