Why Remy Martin’s biggest plays in Kansas Jayhawks’ win were 5 months in the making
Providence coach Ed Cooley snapped his head toward his assistants on the bench, disgusted by what he saw from his team on the other end of the court.
The Friars were passing the ball back and forth ... but it wasn’t looking like it was supposed to.
“They’ve got us pushed too far out,” Cooley said to his coaches.
It was midway through the first half of Kansas’ 66-61 victory over Providence in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, but just the beginning of an unexpected narrative that would only become more critical later.
Remy Martin, on this night, wasn’t just an offensive catalyst for KU.
He also was a big reason for the Jayhawks’ defensive success too.
“I actually thought that Remy’s defense has really improved as much as anybody’s over the last three or four weeks,” KU coach Bill Self said. “He was trying to do what we want him to do and pressure the ball.”
It was having an impact in this moment.
With 13 minutes left, Martin wouldn’t let Providence breathe. He picked up his defensive assignment at half-court, then pestered three different Providence guards as they exchanged the ball well beyond NBA three-point range.
It was a tidy summation of what bothered Providence most during a first half when the team scored a season-low 17 points.
“They amped it up,” Providence guard Al Durham said. “They had a lot of ball pressure. They were switching and trying to make it hard on us to run our stuff. It took us a little minute, a little bit to get adjusted to how they were defending.”
And when the Friars did finally get things loosened up after halftime to make it a game, Martin was there again.
There are no secrets at this point in the NCAA Tournament. Case in point: Whenever Self shouted out a play call on Friday night, Providence’s assistant coaches turned to their players and yelled it louder, signaling that the Friars knew the Jayhawks’ plays as well as they did themselves.
And just being honest: It wouldn’t have taken much film to figure out the KU player who, throughout the season, opponents have picked on most defensively. That’s Martin.
When KU needed him most Friday, though, he had two of his best sequences.
The first was with 3 1/2 minutes left and the Jayhawks leading by five. Durham tried to iso Martin and drive him right, which likely was in a scouting report; Martin entered the game in the first percentile defensively in isolation settings according to Synergy Sports Technology’s logs, allowing 1.43 points per possession in those scenarios.
And while those numbers aren’t a perfect measure of a player’s defense, they also indicate why driving against Martin late game was likely a play call Providence would welcome.
Except for this time, Martin held his ground and forced Durham to retreat. After a pass — and a KU defensive switch — Martin was now on guard Jared Bynum. Martin crowded him outside the three-point line, then trailed a ball screen, prevented a three, then jitterbugged back to Bynum as Bynum drove back left, challenging a jumper to the point where the box score gave him a block.
The shot air-balled. Teammate Christian Braun grabbed the rebound.
And Martin had one more standout defensive play after that at game point.
All season, Martin had struggled when bigger point guards had posted him up. Synergy’s numbers give another glimpse, as opponents had posted 1.33 points per possession against Martin in those settings.
So the 6-foot-4 Durham backing Martin down with 2:10 left and KU up four was a reasonable decision. Martin walled up, though, refusing to let Durham get by him while importantly standing his ground enough so that teammate David McCormack didn’t need to come over with help.
Durham panicked from there. He retreated a few steps, then tried backing Martin down again, finally putting up a desperation 10-footer that clanged off the backboard and rim.
Martin put both arms to the sky for his contest, then after securing the defensive rebound, he cradled the ball in his left hand to free up his right one.
Balling his fingers into a fist, he pounded his chest in satisfaction.
The emotion was spontaneous — and also genuine.
Martin started the year thinking his offense could save him and KU. Self responded by motivating him and making clear that wasn’t enough, beginning with the team’s exhibition game against Emporia State.
Self removed Martin from the starting lineup then, and even after the guard scored 15 points in 18 minutes, Self mostly spoke in the postgame press conference about wanting more.
“I wish he would try a little harder defensively,” Self said after that game on Nov. 3. “It frustrates me sometimes, because he’s as quick as a cat and doesn’t play to his quickness.”
So much has changed over the last five months. And Self deserves credit for not letting Martin coast as he had before.
Since then, Martin has bought in more. And KU’s coach has learned to live with Martin’s highs and lows better.
The two meeting in the middle, though, brought something essential to KU with the season on the line.
Martin tried hard defensively. He played to his quickness. And helped deliver these Jayhawks an Elite Eight berth.
With help from the type of motivation — before this year — that he never knew he needed.
This story was originally published March 25, 2022 at 9:43 PM with the headline "Why Remy Martin’s biggest plays in Kansas Jayhawks’ win were 5 months in the making."
