Slater Nelson "Dugie" Martin Jr.
/ref> (October 22, 1925 – October 18, 2012) was an American

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and coach who was a playmaking

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born in Elmina,

Walker County, Texas Walker County is a county located in the east central section of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 76,400. Its county seat is Huntsville. Initially, Walker County was named for Robert J. Walker, a legislator f ...

and played in seven

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a ...

s. Martin was one of the NBA's best defensive players in the 1950s, playing for the

George Mikan George Lawrence Mikan Jr. (; June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of ...

-led

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

that won four NBA championships between 1950 and 1954. In 1956, he joined

Bob Pettit Robert Lee Pettit Jr. (born December 12, 1932) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the NBA, all with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954–1965). In 1956, he became the first recipient of the NBA's M ...

St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

and won another NBA title in 1958. Martin was an alumnus of Jefferson Davis High School in Houston, where he led his school to two state basketball championships in 1942 and 1943.
/sup> He is also a graduate of

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, where he set a scoring record in 1949 with 49 points in a game for the Longhorns against

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

(or TCU). Throughout his career with the Longhorns, he averaged 12.7 points per game. His former high school now holds an annual fund raiser in his name, the "Slater Martin Golf Tournament", which successfully raises tens of thousands of dollars each year for high school student clubs and athletic teams. He was head coach of the

Houston Mavericks The Houston Mavericks were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). They played in the upstart league's first two seasons, from 1967 to 1969. Their home arena was the Sam Houston Coliseum. In 1947–48, there was an unrela ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

in the 1967–68 season and part of 1968–69, and led the Mavericks into the 1968 ABA Playoffs. Martin was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

on May 3, 1982, in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

. He is the only Longhorn to be so honored. His jersey number 15 was retired by the University of Texas on January 31, 2009, making him only the second Longhorn basketball player to have his number retired. He died of a brief illness on October 18, 2012, in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas, aged 86.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

*
NBA.com profile

at Basketball-Reference.com

at Basketball-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Slater 1925 births 2012 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Texas Basketball players from Houston Houston Mavericks coaches Minneapolis Lakers players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association All-Stars National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees New York Knicks players People from Walker County, Texas Player-coaches Point guards Sportspeople from Houston St. Louis Hawks head coaches St. Louis Hawks players Texas Longhorns men's basketball players

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links