MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — When Xavier forward Justin Martin went “Pony Up!!!!” on Twitter late Tuesday night, SMU’s gain became West Virginia’s chagrin.
The 6-foot-6 Martin, a graduate transfer with versatile skills and one year of eligibility remaining, was coveted by the Mountaineers following the departures of Eron Harris and Terry Henderson. After averaging 11.7 points and 5.2 rebounds as a junior for Xavier’s team that reached the NCAA play-in round, Martin was viewed as a player who could step in at shooting guard and small forward for WVU.
Martin previously visited Florida State and was just days away from a scheduled trip to Morgantown. In between, however, he visited Dallas, where a chance to join Larry Brown’s resurgent SMU program resulted in the following tweet:
“Pony Up!!!! Im a mustang baby!!!!”
Martin adds to a deep SMU roster that already was generating preseason top-10 buzz and figures to challenge UConn for the American Athletic Conference title. Brown signed the nation’s No. 2 recruit, 6-foot-5 point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, and Texas Tech transfer forward Jordan Tolbert, whose eligibility for next season still requires a waiver.