There’s been a steady stream of player news for the University of Utah basketball team since Larry Krystkowiak was fired and eventually replaced by former Utah State coach Craig Smith.
The latest: Guard Ian Martinez has entered the transfer portal, according to Verbal Commits. The 6-foot-3, 183-pounder was a four-star recruit when he joined the Utes program.
Martinez, a native of Heredia, Costa Rica, showed promise as a freshman this past season, particularly in the latter stages of the year. He averaged 5.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 15.8 minutes per game, and Martinez capped the year with a career-best 18-point game in the Utes’ double-overtime loss to USC in the Pac-12 Tournament.
He scored in double figures in five of Utah’s last 10 games of the season, and that included a well-rounded effort in the Utes’ regular-season ending win over Arizona State, when Martinez had 12 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists.
His father, Henry Martinez, was an assistant on Krystkowiak’s staff.
That makes four Utah players who played last season currently in the transfer portal, including Timmy Allen, Alfonso Plummer and Jordan Kellier. Another player, Brendan Wenzel, entered the portal during the season and has since joined the Wyoming Cowboys.
Two other Utes players, Lahat Thioune and Riley Battin, reportedly entered the transfer portal before deciding to return to the Salt Lake City program.