BROWNSVILLE — Brownsville St. Joseph and Los Fresnos jerseys draped the district titles that star guard Gerry Martinez was a part of as he signed to join the University of St. Thomas basketball team in Houston.
Martinez joins the NCAA Division III program after having an outstanding career playing high school basketball in the Brownsville metro area. Martinez split his time between Los Fresnos and Brownsville St. Joseph, finishing off his career with the Bloodhounds.
“It’s something you dream of as a kid,” Martinez said about signing. “I did not think I was going to get emotional, but as you start explaining all of the coaches you have had and stuff like that it really takes you back to the old days. It feels great.”
Martinez teared up a bit when thanking his coaches during his speech. All of them agreed they could not get the star guard that had 2,700 high school career points to leave the gym.
“We were lucky to have Gerry for these two years,” Brownsville St. Joseph head basketball coach Sam Lucio said. “He has shown us as a team where we want to be. He puts in so much work, stays after practice and watches film. It was like having another coach on the court. His basketball IQ is very high for a high school kid. We are going to miss him.”
Martinez said he developed the good habit of watching film while at Los Fresnos. The guard busted onto the high school scene with the Falcons. Martinez was awarded All-Metro MVP as a sophomore.
“I feel like that is where I really grew,” Martinez said. “I made the biggest improvement as a player over there. Coach Marco Hinojosa taught me how to break down film really well. I am really grateful for the coaches and teammates I had over there.”
The senior also was extremely grateful for his time with the Bloodhounds, where he upped his all-around game even further, especially defensively.
“I could not ask for anything more really. I had a great coaching staff and made great friends,” Martinez said.
The senior is ready to focus on his future in Houston.
“I am just really excited to get in there and start working,” Martinez said.