Yorkville forward Graham Martinson isn’t as well known among even the most avid high school boys basketball fans along the Fox River, but that should be changing pretty soon.
Meet the other sophomore this season on the Foxes’ varsity.
Martinson is a 6-foot-3 sharpshooter from the 3-point line who was a surprising addition to the team, joining high-profile classmates Joey Jakstys and Braydon Porter in the starting lineup.
The 6-8 Jakstys and 6-4 Porter also play forward and are both considered Division I prospects.
“I saw it in the summer,” Porter said. “Graham took a really big jump. We wondered if he was going to be able to take the heat of playing varsity and he’s stepped up every game.
“That’s what Graham does. He is, hands down, one of our best shooters on the team. Open shots, contested, deep, close — he’s a really good player in general.”
Martinson proved it Saturday afternoon, opening the game with four 3-pointers in the first quarter and scoring a career-high 27 points to lead Yorkville to a 64-60 overtime win over St. Charles North in the 15th annual Ernie Kivisto Shootout at East Aurora.
Porter and senior guard Gabe Sanders added 15 points each for the Foxes (12-9), who have won seven of their last nine games.
Senior forwards Cooper Mellican and EJ Mondesir finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively, for St. Charles North (9-14). Mondesir made a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left in regulation, sending the game into OT tied 54-54.
Martinson’s seventh 3-pointer early in the extra session gave Yorkville the lead for good at 57-55 and his two free throws with 11.4 seconds left clinched the win.
“It was just good kickouts, we had good ball movement,” Martinson said of his burst in the first quarter. “There was a little bit of pressure but I played through it.”
He’s still happy to be here.
“We were on the summer league with the varsity,” Martinson said of an invite he and his twin, Hunter, received from coach John Holakovsky to fill in for players who had baseball commitments.
Even so, his promotion surprised him.
“I did not think that was coming,” Martinson said. “Not at all.”
He wasn’t alone.
“He’s done a fantastic job and is such a smart kid and hard worker,” Holakovsky said. “Honestly, he’s not a kid I thought would be on varsity right now. He played freshman ball as a freshman. He was the best player on that team, but still played freshman.
“Honestly, even in the summer, he didn’t start with (varsity), but all of a sudden we had three starters at baseball. I just needed bodies.”
Graham’s shooting soon caught his eye since the twins were both post players as freshmen.
His improved shooting, according to Martinson, was due to spring work in the offseason with Newark coach Kyle Anderson, who works as a trainer on the side with individuals.
“He changed my form a little bit to get my release higher,” Martinson said.
Holakovsky still wasn’t sure about Martinson’s prospects for playing varsity but pointed to varsity assistant Andrew Madden and sophomore coach Anthony Cooper as pushing for it.
“They were all over it from July 1 but I gave them grief,” Holakovsky said. “We were gonna be super young anyway. I said he would have to press the issue.”
It didn’t take long once fall practices began.
“He earned it,” Holakovsky said.
A varsity golfer who reached the sectional in the fall, Martinson remained committed to the weight room and kept shooting, despite not playing travel basketball. Yet.
“I think he’s our best team defender,” Holakovsky said of his best percentage 3-point shooter. “Hopefully, as we get moving here the next couple of years, Joey and Braydon are going to get a lot of headlines. But there’s no doubt Graham is a college player, too.”
How high remains to be seen.