Kelan Martin

Kelan Martin (born August 3, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Beşiktaş Emlakjet of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL).

His mother, the former Kristie Jordan, was honored with a retired jersey at Ballard and competed for an NCAA runner-up team at Western Kentucky.

Kelan has a younger brother, Kameron, and was raised with cousin Jalil Brown, the son of Kristie's deceased sister.

He competed for Louisville Legends summer teams in middle school, where he was nicknamed "Baby Shaq" by Rajon Rondo.

While at Ballard High School, he competed for the AAU team Indiana Elite, where future Louisville player Quentin Snider starred.

As a junior, Martin guided Ballard to the Sweet 16 of the Kentucky basketball tournament, recording 23 points and 14 rebounds in the Bruins' 59–55 victory over Montgomery County at Rupp Arena.

Although outshone by Quentin Snider, Martin scored 16 points in an overtime loss to Trey Lyles-led Arsenal Tech.

He had 28 points, including the deciding three-pointer, when Ballard beat Myles Turner and Trinity High School (Euless, Texas) 72–70.

[1] In another game against Doss High School, Martin scored 36 points,[2] and coach Renner started isolating him from practices since he overwhelmed team scrimmages.

When Quentin Snider decommitted from Illinois and selected Louisville, Martin's friends thought he should follow suit but he remained firm in his commitment to the Bulldogs.

[2] Martin averaged 15.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore on a team led by Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones.

[7] In the Round of 64 of the NCAA tournament, Martin scored eight points in 51 seconds to propel the Bulldogs to a 71–61 win against Texas Tech.

[10] Martin was named Big East Player of the Week on December 19, 2016, after scoring 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting in an 83–78 victory over Indiana.

[14] Despite dealing with lower back spasms, Martin scored 19 points, grabbed six rebounds, and made four assists in Butler's 74–65 victory over Middle Tennessee State to reach the Sweet 16.

He did not enter the NBA draft, since he wants to improve his mobility, and he is cooking his own food as a means of controlling his diet.

[18] On December 27, he had 27 points, including a game-winning layup with 2.9 seconds remaining in double overtime, to beat Georgetown 91–89.

[22] Martin scored 27 points in the first-round NCAA tournament matchup versus Arkansas and surpassed the 2,000-point threshold.

[32] Martin was called up to Minnesota and had 12 points and five rebounds on February 3 in a 113–109 loss to the Sacramento Kings while filling in for the injured Allen Crabbe.

Martin with Butler in 2016
Martin in 2020