STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Malik Martin knew he’d have a tough act to follow after a two-year stint as a graduate assistant under coach Dan Hurley and the University of Connecticut’s men’s basketball team the last two seasons.
But that didn’t deter the former two-time Jaques Award winner out of Curtis HS from aggressively seeking a new job after receiving his master’s degree in sports management from UConn last month.
Martin, in fact, received a considerable amount of interest from several NBA franchises and he recently accepted a job offer as a DAV Associate with the Atlanta Hawks, the Advance/SILive.com has learned.
The 24-year-old Martin, who won a NCAA National Championship with the Huskies two years ago, admitted to doing a lot of “networking” during his stay with the Huskies. He received interest from the Spurs, Magic, Bucks, Jazz and Hawks and actually landed interviews with the latter two franchises. Two days after he met with Atlanta officials, he received a call back.
“I was literally chilling at a friends house watching the Knicks when I got a call from the Hawks saying, ‘we’ve got good news, we want to hire you,’' said Martin, who is one of seven brothers in his family. ”I know how hard it is to get your foot in the door with an NBA team, but I’ve worked my butt off and I’m thrilled to get the opportunity.
“I’m still speechless,’' added Martin, who played collegiately at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte before graduating from the University of Rhode Island in 2023. ”It’s just a blessing. My parents, brothers, friends, former coaches and teammates are all super proud of me and I’m looking forward to getting started.’'
According to Martin, a DAV Associate’s job centers around player development, advanced scouting and being a video coordinator.
His brother Hassan’s agent helped set up the interview in the beginning of May with the Hawks.
Malik said he doesn’t leave for Atlanta until June 20th, but he’s looking forward to getting his feet wet and growing with the pro franchise.
“I love the aspect of learning and teaching,’' the St. George resident said. ”I want to be an NBA head coach someday and I know that not many people get this kind of opportunity, but I consider it another step in the right direction.
“I’m definitely looking forward to it,’' he continued. ”My goal is to learn something new every day. It’s definitely going to be a challenge because it’s something new, but I did some video and film work at UConn, so I’m kind of familiar with the process.’'
Martin said when the NBA season starts next fall, he’ll occasionally go on road trips with the Hawks, but the majority of his new job will take place at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.