European Prospects

Davis Martens from Germany is a bit of a different case than the previous players presented in this series. The 2m04 tall forward played last season at the Patterson Prep School in the United States and so it won’t be a real Rookie Season for him. However, the Siena freshman will need to sit out the first 12 games of the season because of his presence with the Cologne 99ers professional team back in 2007-2008.

Davis Martens is an athletic inside player who is still in a process of getting to know his body better and improve his basketball skills. His main offensive skills are his versatility and his outside shot. On the other hand, he needs to work on his passing skills and improve his in-game toughness. This is something that his coaches at Siena try to teach him during the pre-season as points out assistant Andrew Francis to the local press.

He can make plays when he puts the ball on the deck. We’re just trying to get him more under control with his jumps, his turns and his pivots. He’s made a lot of strides just in the few weeks we’ve had him. He’s bigger than people, but sometimes he plays smaller than he is.

But the hopes on Martens are pretty high as the 1989 born forward showed a lot of promise during the practices these days. Davis Martens himself is way more humble when it comes to his personal expectations for his College career.

I can not really speak about a specific goal, I think every one has the same dream but you need to be realistic and see after the work done where you are and what possibilities you have.

I decided to continue my career in the NCAA because a lot of players made it from here and I have more time to develop. But next to basketball itself, it is a great opportunity to study and play basketball at the same time.

Davis also told europeanprospects.com why he chose the five-time NCAA Tournament participant.

Siena offered me the best situation to show my talent and to improve. Additionally, it is directly localized on the East Coast which is closer to Germany than a school in the West. The difference in time zones of 6 hours instead of for example 9 hours is a bigger advantage than one may think.

We wish Davis Martens a good season in Loudonville. Watch here a report on the opening practices of the Siena College for the 2009-2010 season.