Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 11, 1995 TAG: 9502140041
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FERRUM LENGTH: Medium
If basketballs had emotions, the ones used at Ferrum College would be strong candidates for psychological therapy.
``Rejection, rejection, rejection,'' they would sigh.
That's because Tamiko Martin, the Panthers' starting center, has been wreaking havoc on basketballs - and opposing teams - this season with her shot-blocking prowess. She's got 116 blocks in 20 games and is cruising at a rate of 5.8 per game toward the NCAA Division III single-season record of 145.
But Martin isn't planning a career in psychology when she graduates from Ferrum in May. She is planning a career more suitable to the reputation she's developed around the Dixie Conference: law enforcement.
Martin, a Magna Vista High School graduate, is working toward a degree in business with a minor in criminal justice. She has an internship this semester with the Western District of Virginia's U.S. Probation Department in Roanoke and aspires to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
If the FBI doesn't work out, Martin's next career option is police work. She already knows what it's like to be on a S.W.A.T. team.
``I can see myself as a police officer,'' Martin said. ``I think I have the attitude for it. I really don't take any garbage from anybody. I can take care of myself.
``Ever since people found out about the FBI thing, they've said, `Yeah, that's what you should do. That's what you look like, a police officer.'''
To everyone except her mother, that is. Yvette Martin named her only child from a character in a Japanese movie titled ``A Girl Named Tamiko.'' But never in her wildest dreams did she think her daughter would be an on-the-scene crime fighter - like in the movies.
``I tell her that it scares me, but that it's her choice and I'm going to back her 100 percent,'' Yvette Martin said. ``I guess she has the attitude for it. She's not easily persuaded. No one can force her to do anything she doesn't want to.
``But Tamiko is the quiet type,'' her mom added. ``She always liked to be by herself. It's really only been in the last two years that she's opened up.''
Donna Doonan will back that up. The Ferrum coach described Martin as the stereotypical college student, blossoming over four years from a shy adolescent into a self-assured woman.
Doonan also has watched Martin's confidence grow on the basketball court. As a freshman, Martin averaged 3.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. This season, she's contributing 6.5 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5.8 blocks for the Panthers, who are 12-8 overall and 6-3 in the conference.
``She has developed into a great Division III basketball player. She is a dominant force within the Dixie Conference and the South Region,'' Doonan said.
``Her confidence is better inside and she's become more aggressive. We'd still like her to shoot more, but that goes along with her personality. She is very unselfish.''
The 6-foot-4 Martin - her nickname is ``Tree'' - already owns Ferrum records for blocks in a game (10, four times), a season (116 and counting) and a career (352 and counting).
Martin also holds the Division III women's record for career blocked shots, a category the NCAA has recognized only the past three seasons. Martin has 303 since the 1992-93 season.
In addition, Martin ranks second in the nation - all divisions, men and women - in blocks per game average. Only Ira Nicholson of the Division III men's program at Mount St. Vincent (N.Y.) is averaging more with 6.4 per game. Butler's Liesel Schultz is the Division I women's leader with 3.9 per game.
But Martin said the record she would most like to leave Ferrum with is the Division III women's mark for blocks in a season. To accomplish that, Martin would have to average 7.2 blocks in Ferrum's final four games. Her chances would improve if the Panthers advance past the first round of the Dixie tournament Feb.21-25.
``This is the first year I've actually been close to it,'' she said. ``But it's hard now because teams know about me and they're starting to change their shots.''
Doonan said Martin's play often dictates the performance of the entire Ferrum team as well.
``It's a psychological weapon. When Tamiko blocks a shot, our defense improves and that leads to offensive improvement,'' Doonan said.
``We're very fortunate to have had Tamiko come here. She's helped the team and she's helped Ferrum. Anyone who holds a national title in anything is special.''
by CNB