Central Michigan University Athletics
Martin Seizes Chance To Play At Division I
12/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 10, 2001
Kendra Martin has faced many different challenges throughout her basketball career. Up to this point, she has been up to every one of them.
Kendra averaged 20.8 points per game as a senior at Muskegon Catholic and led the team to an undefeated 20-0 mark. You'd think this would cause letters to pour in from colleges around the country for most players, but that was not the case for Martin.
"My coach in high school didn't help me out in looking for a school to play for," explained Martin. "I had to start looking for schools on my own."
Kendra didn't begin to look at schools until January of her senior season when most schools already had their scholarship players for the next season.
Martin realized that she needed to prove herself, once again, at a community college to get an opportunity to play at a Division I school. At nearby Muskegon Community College, she responded by averaging 21.2 points as a freshman, earning her third team JUCO All-American honors. She followed that up the next season by scoring 21.4 a game and being named to the JUCO All-American second team.
Kendra's performance at MCC finally caught the attention of division I schools. After sifting through letters from Oakland and various other Mid-American Conference schools, she decided that Central Michigan would be the right fit.
"My goal was always to play at a Division I school," said Martin. "When I came to CMU to visit I liked the team and the coaches, and they said that I would get a good opportunity to play."
After sitting out last season, due to NCAA transfer rules, Kendra is playing this season with yet another challenge in front of her. She is trying to help turn around a team that finished 4-24 last year.
"It was tough sitting out last year," said Martin. "It made me want come back and help the team out as much as I could."
