By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — New Vanderbilt head basketball coach Jerry Stackhouse added the second son of a former top NBA player to his incoming roster Sunday, with the announcement that Kenyon Martin Jr. was committing to the Commodores. He made the announcement on Twitter, which has become the go-to social media of choice for this generation. He will reunite with Scotty Pippen, who is the son of NBA Hall of Famer and multiple champion Scottie Pippen.
They previously played together in Chatsworth, California at Sierra Canyon School. The addition of Martin sets aside some fears that he might change his mind about attending Vanderbilt in the wake of former head coach Bryce Drew being fired. Martin’s forte according to recruiting reports is his ability to make plays on the interior, both offensively and defensively. He’s six feet, six inches and is rated the number 239 player overall in the 2019 class according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings.
He’s the second prime recruit in Stackhouse’s new class. Jordan Wright, a six foot, six inch shooting guard, previously committed to Vanderbilt on April 26. He also made his announcement on Twitter, and selected Vanderbilt over Tulane. Wright was considered Louisiana’s third best player, and also had offers from Georgia Tech, Houston, Minnesota, Texas Christian and Virginia Tech. Plus forward Dylan Disu, who signed in November, plans to remain with Vanderbilt. Both Disu and Pippen were previously recruited by Drew.
Guard Austin Crowley got a release from his scholarship and signed with Mississippi. Matt Ryan and Yanni Wetzell both opted to join the NCAA’s transfer portal. Highly recruited freshman Darius Garland was injured after only nine games, and has since declared for the NBA draft. The same is true for Simi Shittu, who played one season. Joe Toye was the lone senior departing.