A locked-in Alijah Martin (15) on defense is a problem for UF opponents and great for the Gators.
FAU Reunion: 'Brotherhood' meets 'Business' in Fayetteville
Saturday, January 11, 2025 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – When Todd Golden arrived at Florida in the spring of 2023 he inherited a roster that included walk-on Jack May. In the months to come, Golden got to know May's father, Dusty, the former Gators assistant who left five years earlier to become head coach at Florida Atlantic.
When May came to UF that summer for a clinic, Golden got the sense that May really, really liked his FAU team, which really, really concerned Golden because Florida and FAU were scheduled to play in Gainesville on Nov. 14, his third game on the Gators' sideline.
"I could just tell, like, 'This dude has a good team, knows he has a good team and is excited about his team,' " Golden recalled. "And we were fortunate enough to get them in our third game of that first year."
One of the reasons – actually, two of the reasons – May was so high on his squad was because he had a pair of fourth-year junior guards back, Alijah Martin and Johnell Davis, and ready for big-time breakout seasons. Indeed, FAU came to Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center a few months later, erased a double-digit lead and shocked the Gators 76-74, with Davis tallying 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Martin scoring all 11 of his points (with a trio of 3-pointers) in the second half.
Alijah Martin(15), the FAU Owl version, took it to Will Richard (5), Colin Castleton (12) and the Gators early in the '22-23 season at the O'Dome.
That was the first of what became 20 consecutive victories for the Owls en route to a stunning, historic, Cinderella run to a Conference USA regular-season championship, C-USA Tournament title and – with NCAA Tournament wins over Memphis, Fairleigh Dickinson, Tennessee and Kansas State – berth in the Final Four.
Martin, now a 6-foot-2, 210-pound honey-badger of a guard for the Gators, took a moment this week to reflect on that season and his kinship with Davis, who together became one of the most deadly duos in college basketball for a couple seasons.
"Facts," Martin said. "We had some highs and even some lows together, but what I'm most proud of is the brotherhood we created randomly and through Coach May with all those guys. We'll always be brothers."
He paused.
"That's why it's going to be weird, to be honest with you."
The awkwardness figures to linger up until the handshake prior to the opening tip Saturday afternoon. Once the ball is tossed, Martin and Davis, forever brothers for their FAU fame, will be mortal enemies for the next two hours, as the No. 6 Gators (14-1, 1-1) due battle against Davis and his new team, the Arkansas Razorbacks (11-4, 0-2) at sold-out Bud Walton Arena. When May bolted Boca Raton for Michigan last spring, the Owls scattered across the country, with Golden and his staff pouncing immediately to make Martin their top transfer portal priority, while Davis also entertained a slew of high-major suitors before picking Coach John Calipari and the Hogs.
Here they are.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
Their seasons, for now, appear trending in different directions, with the Gators going unbeaten through the non-league season and four days ago pulverizing top-ranked Tennessee, 73-43, with Martin leading all scorers with 18 points. The Razorbacks have had a mostly middling campaign thus far, with back-to-back losses to start SEC play; by 24 at Tennessee last week, then 73-66 against No. 24 Ole Miss at home Wednesday.
For Florida, this road trip is all about not repeating the one last week at 10th-ranked Kentucky, where the Gators allowed 59-percent shooting and a whopping 14 3-pointers in a 106-100 loss to start the SEC season. The performance was eye-opening, given the way UF had defended the first 13 games and, in hindsight, even more so after what the Gators did in destroying the No. 1-ranked Volunteers, who shot just 21.4 percent and went 4-for-29 from deep in that history-making wipeout.
Shoutout to Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin
◾️ Both were unranked recruits in HS
◾️ Led FAU to its best season ever
◾️ Davis became the first player in March Madness history to put up a 25-10-5-5 game
◾️ Martin is on pace to become FAU's all-time leading scorer
To a man, from coaches down the bench, the Gators credit Martin with being a huge part of a dogged defensive mindset that has catapulted a program that finished 94th in defensive efficiency last season to currently No. 16 this season. After helping guide FAU to 60 wins and two NCAA tournaments the last two seasons, Martin needed no introduction when he showed up for his portal visit last spring.
"Oh, we definitely knew he was," sophomore forward Thomas Haugh said.
Martin spent extra time with UF senior leaders/standouts Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard during his stay and soon learned their agendas aligned.
"We just wanted to win," Clayton said. "That's all we really talked about."
Martin was sold. When he got to town, his work ethic and no-nonsense leadership skills were on display daily during the offseason and on into the preseason.
"We all knew he would bring us something different, then over the summer, during conditioning, he led us and we followed him. Everybody gravitated toward him," Haugh said. "And when he speaks up on the court he's not yelling at you or getting mad at you. He just talks to you, like, 'Hey bro. Let's do this, let's do that. You need to be better.' It's not a demanding tone, but a respectful, kind of forceful one."
Since the regular-season began, the results have hardly been subtle. Not for the Gators nor Martin.
The beatdown put on Tennessee (the worst loss taken by a No. 1 team in 57 years) has put the national spotlight back on the Florida program.
Martin, meanwhile, is second on the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game, third in rebounding at 5.7 and second in steals at 1.7. To start SEC play, Martin is shooting at 57.1 from the 2-point area and 41.2 from distance in the two games.
Those are terrific offensive numbers, yes, but Martin's defense and its trickle-down effect has had the biggest impact in turning the Gators – approaching the midpoint of the 2024-25 season – into one of the most complete teams in college basketball.
"It's been beautiful," sophomore and defense-first center Rueben Chinyelu said.
Reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year Zakai Zeigler (5) got a taste of Alijah Martin(15) and the Florida defense in Tuesday's 73-43 clobbering of the No. 1 Vols.
Now that defense has to travel, something it did not do last weekend.
"I think we're going to learn from Kentucky," Martin said. "With how hard it is to play on the road and how hard it is to play every game in the SEC, you just never know what to expect. But one thing we do know is we can't lack effort. That's got to be at the top of the game plan; playing hard and controlling what we can control."
That would be the mission regardless of the opponent. This time, however, it just so happens his "brother" is on the other side. In the way.
The guys who go by "A-Mart" and "Nelly" took two different paths, but for one day they'll reunite at the same destination with the goal of (this time) taking the other out.
"College basketball, man, has become a business. It just is what it is," Martin said. "It's been a while since I've seen him and I'm excited to see him, but … ."
Another pause.
"Yeah, it's going to be weird."
Email senior writer Chris Harry at @chrish@gators.ufl.edu
