Oklahoma State University Athletics
Story by Ryan Cameron
Photography by Bruce Waterfield
This feature originally appeared in the December 2013 edition of POSSE Magazine.
Until the arrival of Brittney Martin, there was no way to describe the recruiting pipeline between Utah and Stillwater for the Cowgirl basketball program, other than non-existent.
The number of players to wear the Cowgirl uniform has pushed well north of 250 since the formation of the program in the 1970s, and has included players from Europe, South America, Australia and numerous locales in between. However, it was not until last season when Martin donned her No. 22 that a product of Utah had worn the Cowgirl jersey. With that said, the path to Stillwater was not always clear-cut for the Syracuse, Utah native.
At a very early age Martin's prowess began to reveal itself, and it appeared her path would take her just 30 miles south of her hometown to Salt Lake City and the University of Utah.
"In seventh grade, she was playing with the juniors and seniors in a league during the summer and was kind of dominating high school kids, and I knew then. She was just bigger than everybody and more athletic," said her father, Darrell Martin. Her state school had its eye on her since the eighth grade and her commitment soon followed. However, as her high school career blossomed and the accolades began to roll in, so too did the opportunities to take her game outside of the place she had lived her entire life.
"We rushed it too fast with the "U" and as she got a little older I said 'Brittney we may want to open this back up,'" Darrell Martin said.
"When I committed, I was really young and they were my only option at the time. It is really close to my family and is only like 30 minutes away, so I was scared to go away and I decided to commit," Martin said.
While helping Syracuse High School to an 89-5 mark and a pair of state titles during her four seasons, Martin's stock skyrocketed and options became plentiful after she reopened her recruitment.
"I started getting all of these offers and my dad started talking to me about the experience that it would be to move out of Utah and see other things. I wanted to see what else was out there besides Utah because I had been there my whole life. I just wanted to get a different experience," Martin said.
Despite being the 19th-ranked prospect in the nation, both Martin and her father were surprised to find a school from the premier women's basketball conference in the country in hot pursuit.
"It was a big shock. I knew she was good, but I didn't know she was good enough to play in the Big 12 Conference. She said 'I don't know if I can play in that conference', and I told her she needed to give it a chance and get down there," Darrell Martin said.
The Big 12 school that came calling was Oklahoma State and assistant coach Miranda Serna quickly made inroads with Martin.
"They just called and I started talking to them and I talked to Coach Serna a lot. We got along really well. I just had a lot of fun with them," Martin said.
"Coach Serna is really the one that turned our heads and just the way she was with Brittney was like we had known her for years. She was a helluva recruiter. Talking to all of the recruiters and then talking to her we just had a great connection with her," the elder Martin added.
That connection prompted daughter to talk father into a making the 18-hour journey halfway across the country to see the place of which she had only recently become aware.
"I had honestly never heard of Oklahoma State before they talked to me. I wasn't really expecting much. I guess I just wanted to see what was here," Martin explained.
So Martin and her father crammed into the cozy confines of a rented Fiat 500 and made the 18-hour drive east. Upon arrival In Stillwater, Martin was almost immediately sold.
"It was a big college town and it reminded Brittney of Utah a little bit. It wasn't fast, it was slow and that was what she was looking for. We went to UCLA and we were there maybe two hours and she said 'I can't do this'. That is what steered us there because it just seemed like home," Darrell Martin said.
"When we got there with the coaches, it was like we had known them for years. They were just good people and that is what attracted us to it. She would have committed in four hours when we got there. That is how much she liked it."
While it took a little more than a few hours to draw a commitment from her, she did pledge to become a Cowgirl before she left town.
"When I got here I knew this is where I should be. I didn't really think I would get that feeling from any school, but I really, truly believed that I was supposed to be here and I was meant to play here. It was just really family oriented and I felt comfortable here," Martin said.
Just two months after her initial visit to campus, tragedy struck the Cowgirl program when head coach Kurt Budke and Serna were killed in a plane crash while on a recruiting trip in Arkansas, throwing another potential detour into Martin's path.
Even though she never took the floor under their guidance, both coaches made a lasting impression on Martin during the recruiting process and their loss weighed heavily on her.
"When I first found out I was at school and they got me out of class and my coaches told me. To this day, it is still like a shock to me," Martin said. "I didn't go through what those girls had to go through. They played for them, but I just felt like I was already a part of the family before I got here, so it was kind of hard for me to adjust to them not being here when I got here."
Once again, it was fatherly advice that helped keep Martin on the path to OSU.
"She wanted to back out, but those coaches had been good to her and Coach Serna went out of her way to recruit her. She did everything she could and I told her I thought it would be fair of you to honor that and go to school there. I think it would be a good thing with what Coach Serna did for her. No other coach, to me, recruited like Coach Serna did with Brittney and that is why I wanted her to stay and be committed to that," Darrell Martin said.
Martin followed through and arrived in Stillwater where the next wave of uncertainty came from within despite her decorated prep career.
"I was so nervous to play here and was so scared. I just didn't think my talent level was up to par with everybody in this conference. Everything made me nervous - first practice, first conditioning and everything. I did a lot better than I thought I would do and it showed me I could play with these girls," Martin said.
Darrell Martin echoed his daughter's reservations about making a name for herself so quickly.
"We thought she would just be a little role player there and score four or five points. We weren't expecting any of this," he said. "I thought she would really struggle the first year, but she stepped right in and did what she needed to do."
Those nerves and fears were never prevalent in the six-foot guard's performance as she started all 33 of the Cowgirls' games on her way to being named to the Big 12's All-Freshman Team and earning third-team Freshman All-America honors.
"She has a lot of tools to her game. She can score off the dribble, has a great intermediate game, turned into our best defender, has the ability to score in transition and is an outstanding rebounder. She fills the stat sheet with positive numbers and has a lot of different facets to her game," OSU head coach Jim Littell said.
"She is simply about winning."
The five-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week's versatility showed up in nearly every category on the stat sheet as she finished the year as the only player ranked in the top five among league freshmen in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, assists and steals.
Just nine games into her career, her versatility was on full display as she etched her name into the record book, becoming the first Cowgirl to record a triple-double. On Dec. 22 against UT Arlington, Martin pulled off the feat no one in more than 1,100 games before her had been able to do when she scored 10 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out 10 assists.
Ironically, ask Martin what part of her game served her best and she will tell you one in which she had no interest until she arrived on campus.
"I never played defense in my life, I am sad to say that, but I never did. Then I got here and it is something that I take pride in now. I hated it so much, but I never played it, so how can you hate it? I take pride in my defense now."
That pride in her defensive work resulted in a league-best 96 steals and often times she drew the assignment of guarding the opposition's top offensive player.
The workload placed upon Martin fell more in step with that of a seasoned veteran and is something Littell says benefited her and helped her thrive.
"She has grown leaps and bounds because she was thrown into the fire. The expectations were higher for her from day one, probably higher than she knew," Littell said.
"As the season progressed, she kept getting better and better as she got more comfortable. She assumed some tough roles for a freshman to fill and she was really good. What she meant to our team, and it's a biased opinion, I thought she could very well have been the Big 12 Freshman of the Year."
During the season, the player who considered herself a role player drew the attention of USA Basketball and received an invitation to the U19 World Team Trials. Despite not making the final cut, Martin did not come away empty handed, getting a chance to see firsthand where her game stood against the nation's best.
"Going there was a good experience. It taught me that I have a lot of work to do. I don't want to be a one-dimensional player, I want to expand my game," Martin said. "Playing with all of the best girls in the country, they all did different things I wasn't able to do or things that I haven't done, but could do. I learned a lot from them, watching them and playing with them."
Littell knows his star guard is far from a finished product as well.
"She has a high ceiling. She is a really good player now, but she has a different level where she can take it," Littell said.
Despite her accomplishments, it is an act away from basketball that displays the true measure of Martin's impact on the program.
Prior to her freshman season, Martin was introduced to season ticket holders Jimmie and Margaret Walker at the squad's season-opening banquet and a friendship was quickly formed.
"We got to talking and we all just connected. She was new here and didn't really know anybody," Margaret Walker said. "After games, we would always wait and high five her when she left the floor."
During the season, word made its way to Martin that Walker had breast cancer. Martin saw it as a chance to return the support given to her.
Following a game, the Walkers waited for Martin and unbeknownst to them, she had more than a high five for them.
"She brought the sweetest note that she had handwritten. She said then that she knew the battle we were going through and that she wanted to wear a pink wristband to support me," Walker said. "It was one of my most precious cards or letters that I received. It makes you so proud to know a girl that age has that maturity and cares that much. I know without a shadow of a doubt she is very sincere," Walker said.
Even after enduring a double mastectomy, Walker continued to attend Cowgirl home games and receive the support of her favorite player.
"It meant a lot that somebody that was so involved in all of the stuff she is doing with playing basketball and going to college that she took the time for an older couple to take time for us and show that she truly cared. She has the biggest heart," Walker said.
"She has just been really caring and supportive. We just really love her."
Martin's act of kindness went unknown until Walker approached Littell this fall and shared her story.
"It was just kind of a thing between us. Jimmie and I were going through some pictures and he asked where that picture was because he wanted to show it to Coach. He was the one that wanted to let them know what a special girl she is," Walker said.
The fact Martin quietly performed and wanted no recognition for her act of kindness came as no surprise to Littell.
"She is very unselfish and is very humble in the fact that she doesn't ever want to bring attention to herself," Littell said. "She has an outstanding trait in that she puts other people first and that is the sign of a great teammate when you can put other people first.
"She represents our program in a very positive fashion."
For Walker, a simple gesture has gone a long way and has helped forge a friendship that will extend beyond Martin's playing days.
"She is a very, very special person and I will always, always keep in touch with her to know what she is doing in her life because it has meant that much to me," Walker said.
During a visit to Stillwater last season, Darrell Martin was able to see firsthand the impact his daughter has had in and around the program away from the game.
"It gives me chills. People are comIng up to me and telling me what a good kid she is. She is really giving and caring and that is the Brittney that I know," he said. "To me, it isn't even the basketball. That is what I noticed the most when I got there, how everybody likes her. That is what I wanted and for her to graduate. I told her you can't play basketball forever, so make good relationships and graduate."
Not even having reached the halfway point of her career, Martin is well on her way to doing just that.
So much for being just a little role player.
Photography by Bruce Waterfield
This feature originally appeared in the December 2013 edition of POSSE Magazine.
Until the arrival of Brittney Martin, there was no way to describe the recruiting pipeline between Utah and Stillwater for the Cowgirl basketball program, other than non-existent.
The number of players to wear the Cowgirl uniform has pushed well north of 250 since the formation of the program in the 1970s, and has included players from Europe, South America, Australia and numerous locales in between. However, it was not until last season when Martin donned her No. 22 that a product of Utah had worn the Cowgirl jersey. With that said, the path to Stillwater was not always clear-cut for the Syracuse, Utah native.
At a very early age Martin's prowess began to reveal itself, and it appeared her path would take her just 30 miles south of her hometown to Salt Lake City and the University of Utah.
"In seventh grade, she was playing with the juniors and seniors in a league during the summer and was kind of dominating high school kids, and I knew then. She was just bigger than everybody and more athletic," said her father, Darrell Martin. Her state school had its eye on her since the eighth grade and her commitment soon followed. However, as her high school career blossomed and the accolades began to roll in, so too did the opportunities to take her game outside of the place she had lived her entire life.
"We rushed it too fast with the "U" and as she got a little older I said 'Brittney we may want to open this back up,'" Darrell Martin said.
"When I committed, I was really young and they were my only option at the time. It is really close to my family and is only like 30 minutes away, so I was scared to go away and I decided to commit," Martin said.
While helping Syracuse High School to an 89-5 mark and a pair of state titles during her four seasons, Martin's stock skyrocketed and options became plentiful after she reopened her recruitment.
"I started getting all of these offers and my dad started talking to me about the experience that it would be to move out of Utah and see other things. I wanted to see what else was out there besides Utah because I had been there my whole life. I just wanted to get a different experience," Martin said.
Despite being the 19th-ranked prospect in the nation, both Martin and her father were surprised to find a school from the premier women's basketball conference in the country in hot pursuit.
"It was a big shock. I knew she was good, but I didn't know she was good enough to play in the Big 12 Conference. She said 'I don't know if I can play in that conference', and I told her she needed to give it a chance and get down there," Darrell Martin said.
The Big 12 school that came calling was Oklahoma State and assistant coach Miranda Serna quickly made inroads with Martin.
"They just called and I started talking to them and I talked to Coach Serna a lot. We got along really well. I just had a lot of fun with them," Martin said.
"Coach Serna is really the one that turned our heads and just the way she was with Brittney was like we had known her for years. She was a helluva recruiter. Talking to all of the recruiters and then talking to her we just had a great connection with her," the elder Martin added.
That connection prompted daughter to talk father into a making the 18-hour journey halfway across the country to see the place of which she had only recently become aware.
"I had honestly never heard of Oklahoma State before they talked to me. I wasn't really expecting much. I guess I just wanted to see what was here," Martin explained.
So Martin and her father crammed into the cozy confines of a rented Fiat 500 and made the 18-hour drive east. Upon arrival In Stillwater, Martin was almost immediately sold.
"It was a big college town and it reminded Brittney of Utah a little bit. It wasn't fast, it was slow and that was what she was looking for. We went to UCLA and we were there maybe two hours and she said 'I can't do this'. That is what steered us there because it just seemed like home," Darrell Martin said.
"When we got there with the coaches, it was like we had known them for years. They were just good people and that is what attracted us to it. She would have committed in four hours when we got there. That is how much she liked it."
While it took a little more than a few hours to draw a commitment from her, she did pledge to become a Cowgirl before she left town.
"When I got here I knew this is where I should be. I didn't really think I would get that feeling from any school, but I really, truly believed that I was supposed to be here and I was meant to play here. It was just really family oriented and I felt comfortable here," Martin said.
Just two months after her initial visit to campus, tragedy struck the Cowgirl program when head coach Kurt Budke and Serna were killed in a plane crash while on a recruiting trip in Arkansas, throwing another potential detour into Martin's path.
Even though she never took the floor under their guidance, both coaches made a lasting impression on Martin during the recruiting process and their loss weighed heavily on her.
"When I first found out I was at school and they got me out of class and my coaches told me. To this day, it is still like a shock to me," Martin said. "I didn't go through what those girls had to go through. They played for them, but I just felt like I was already a part of the family before I got here, so it was kind of hard for me to adjust to them not being here when I got here."
Once again, it was fatherly advice that helped keep Martin on the path to OSU.
"She wanted to back out, but those coaches had been good to her and Coach Serna went out of her way to recruit her. She did everything she could and I told her I thought it would be fair of you to honor that and go to school there. I think it would be a good thing with what Coach Serna did for her. No other coach, to me, recruited like Coach Serna did with Brittney and that is why I wanted her to stay and be committed to that," Darrell Martin said.
Martin followed through and arrived in Stillwater where the next wave of uncertainty came from within despite her decorated prep career.
"I was so nervous to play here and was so scared. I just didn't think my talent level was up to par with everybody in this conference. Everything made me nervous - first practice, first conditioning and everything. I did a lot better than I thought I would do and it showed me I could play with these girls," Martin said.
Darrell Martin echoed his daughter's reservations about making a name for herself so quickly.
"We thought she would just be a little role player there and score four or five points. We weren't expecting any of this," he said. "I thought she would really struggle the first year, but she stepped right in and did what she needed to do."
Those nerves and fears were never prevalent in the six-foot guard's performance as she started all 33 of the Cowgirls' games on her way to being named to the Big 12's All-Freshman Team and earning third-team Freshman All-America honors.
"She has a lot of tools to her game. She can score off the dribble, has a great intermediate game, turned into our best defender, has the ability to score in transition and is an outstanding rebounder. She fills the stat sheet with positive numbers and has a lot of different facets to her game," OSU head coach Jim Littell said.
"She is simply about winning."
The five-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week's versatility showed up in nearly every category on the stat sheet as she finished the year as the only player ranked in the top five among league freshmen in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, assists and steals.
Just nine games into her career, her versatility was on full display as she etched her name into the record book, becoming the first Cowgirl to record a triple-double. On Dec. 22 against UT Arlington, Martin pulled off the feat no one in more than 1,100 games before her had been able to do when she scored 10 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out 10 assists.
Ironically, ask Martin what part of her game served her best and she will tell you one in which she had no interest until she arrived on campus.
"I never played defense in my life, I am sad to say that, but I never did. Then I got here and it is something that I take pride in now. I hated it so much, but I never played it, so how can you hate it? I take pride in my defense now."
That pride in her defensive work resulted in a league-best 96 steals and often times she drew the assignment of guarding the opposition's top offensive player.
The workload placed upon Martin fell more in step with that of a seasoned veteran and is something Littell says benefited her and helped her thrive.
"She has grown leaps and bounds because she was thrown into the fire. The expectations were higher for her from day one, probably higher than she knew," Littell said.
"As the season progressed, she kept getting better and better as she got more comfortable. She assumed some tough roles for a freshman to fill and she was really good. What she meant to our team, and it's a biased opinion, I thought she could very well have been the Big 12 Freshman of the Year."
During the season, the player who considered herself a role player drew the attention of USA Basketball and received an invitation to the U19 World Team Trials. Despite not making the final cut, Martin did not come away empty handed, getting a chance to see firsthand where her game stood against the nation's best.
"Going there was a good experience. It taught me that I have a lot of work to do. I don't want to be a one-dimensional player, I want to expand my game," Martin said. "Playing with all of the best girls in the country, they all did different things I wasn't able to do or things that I haven't done, but could do. I learned a lot from them, watching them and playing with them."
Littell knows his star guard is far from a finished product as well.
"She has a high ceiling. She is a really good player now, but she has a different level where she can take it," Littell said.
Despite her accomplishments, it is an act away from basketball that displays the true measure of Martin's impact on the program.
Prior to her freshman season, Martin was introduced to season ticket holders Jimmie and Margaret Walker at the squad's season-opening banquet and a friendship was quickly formed.
"We got to talking and we all just connected. She was new here and didn't really know anybody," Margaret Walker said. "After games, we would always wait and high five her when she left the floor."
During the season, word made its way to Martin that Walker had breast cancer. Martin saw it as a chance to return the support given to her.
Following a game, the Walkers waited for Martin and unbeknownst to them, she had more than a high five for them.
"She brought the sweetest note that she had handwritten. She said then that she knew the battle we were going through and that she wanted to wear a pink wristband to support me," Walker said. "It was one of my most precious cards or letters that I received. It makes you so proud to know a girl that age has that maturity and cares that much. I know without a shadow of a doubt she is very sincere," Walker said.
Even after enduring a double mastectomy, Walker continued to attend Cowgirl home games and receive the support of her favorite player.
"It meant a lot that somebody that was so involved in all of the stuff she is doing with playing basketball and going to college that she took the time for an older couple to take time for us and show that she truly cared. She has the biggest heart," Walker said.
"She has just been really caring and supportive. We just really love her."
Martin's act of kindness went unknown until Walker approached Littell this fall and shared her story.
"It was just kind of a thing between us. Jimmie and I were going through some pictures and he asked where that picture was because he wanted to show it to Coach. He was the one that wanted to let them know what a special girl she is," Walker said.
The fact Martin quietly performed and wanted no recognition for her act of kindness came as no surprise to Littell.
"She is very unselfish and is very humble in the fact that she doesn't ever want to bring attention to herself," Littell said. "She has an outstanding trait in that she puts other people first and that is the sign of a great teammate when you can put other people first.
"She represents our program in a very positive fashion."
For Walker, a simple gesture has gone a long way and has helped forge a friendship that will extend beyond Martin's playing days.
"She is a very, very special person and I will always, always keep in touch with her to know what she is doing in her life because it has meant that much to me," Walker said.
During a visit to Stillwater last season, Darrell Martin was able to see firsthand the impact his daughter has had in and around the program away from the game.
"It gives me chills. People are comIng up to me and telling me what a good kid she is. She is really giving and caring and that is the Brittney that I know," he said. "To me, it isn't even the basketball. That is what I noticed the most when I got there, how everybody likes her. That is what I wanted and for her to graduate. I told her you can't play basketball forever, so make good relationships and graduate."
Not even having reached the halfway point of her career, Martin is well on her way to doing just that.
So much for being just a little role player.
