Christian Martin Talks Dad, UMass Commitment

Frank Martin landed a commitment from 2026 Massachusetts SG/SF Christian Martin, a player he's quite familiar with.

Frank Martin’s 2018 speech about youth players, parents and coaches will still go viral from time to time.

It’s just as relevant today as it was back then, probably even more so.

Martin’s speech was intended as a wakeup call for parents to show coaches and officials the respect they deserve in youth sports.

Martin said he drew a clear line between himself as a father and his children’s coaches.

“I don’t try to tell my kid how they should play,” Martin said during the speech. “You know what I tell my two boys when they come to me? ‘Why you asking me, man? I didn’t run your practice, go talk to your coach…Don’t talk about your coach in front of me, man, because if you are then you’re not playing basketball.’

“‘You don’t understand why you didn’t play better? Go talk to your coach. I’m not your coach. I’m your dad.”

That line got a bit more blurry last week when Martin’s son, Christian, committed to play basketball for his dad at UMass.

“When I was younger, in the beginning of freshman year, I definitely did not want to play for my dad,” the younger Martin told Minuteman Command. “But when we moved to Amherst, that’s when I started to start wanting to play for my dad. He found a joy for coaching again when he got up here. When I saw that, I kind of saw that I wanted to be a part of that.”

Martin started seriously thinking about it when he looked at what his dad had put together in Amherst.

“From the of beginning of this year when I saw his team, when I was around the gym and saw how they treated each other and how they treated me,” he said. “With some of his roster returning next year and Luka Damjanac being on the team, I was high school teammates with him.

“That’s kind of what did it for me. I just had the right people and obviously my dad was the coach, so that kind of also did it for me as well.”

The 6-foot-5, 206-pounder from Wilbraham & Monson Academy chose UMass over an offer from Air Force and was also receiving serious interest from schools like Cornell, Holy Cross and Central Connecticut State.

He’s excited to have the decision behind him.

“It definitely can be a stressful process, but I’m just relieved for sure that I don’t have to worry about it anymore and I could just kind of go play basketball my senior year and then make the transition to college next year,” he said.

Martin called his shooting his greatest ability.

“But also my ability to lift everybody up, whether it’s a play I make or a play one of my teammates makes; definitely a voice that brings the team together,” he said. “Providing energy is another thing that I think I do well off the court.”

He expects to play a swingman role, playing mostly shooting guard and small forward.

“In smaller lineups, I think I rebound well enough to maybe play the 4, but definitely mainly the 2 and the 3,” he said.

He’s enjoyed his time playing at Wilbraham & Monson so far.

“It’s been great,” he said. “I started off as a reclass sophomore; didn’t really play much the first year, was still trying to learn. I got better junior year, made All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention, and then this year, I’m hoping to make All-NEPSAC and trying to go as far as we can in the playoffs and maybe win a championship.”

He said he’s learned plenty from Wilbraham & Monson head coach Mike Mannix.

“He’s an awesome coach,” said Martin. “His scheme and his mind for the game are definitely things I’ve been learning from him, just how smart he is.”

Frank Martin coached his older son, Brandon, at both UMass and South Carolina before that, so he’s familiar with the dynamic.

“We talked about it and just knowing the separation,” Christian Martin explained. “When we’re on the court, he’s Coach and when he’s off the court, he can be Dad. That’s kind of been the distinction. Make sure we keep the Coach thing on the court and keep the Dad thing at the house.”

Your one-stop-shop for all your sports marketing needs… Owned and Operated by UMASS Grads.

We specialize in providing top-quality marketing & printing services for coaches, athletic directors, and sports marketing professionals.

Get Fan Ready!