Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
I often get asked….why in the world do you like the Woo as much as you do? (some people speak to me in Dr. Seuss-esque rhymes). I have thought about this from time to time, and I dont think its an easy answer. It could be that it is simply because he is foreign…..I have always had an affinity for foreign players, ranging from Uwe Blab to Vlade Divac….they are exotic, represent the American Dream and usually sweat at uncontrollable amounts. It might be that I have an affinity for big tall, goofy white people. Being one myself, I have always had a soft spot for the Neil Fingletons, the Joel Pryzbillas, the Shawn Bradleys, the Gheorge Muresans, etc. In a world that exists mostly to mock them, these brave souls go on, knowing full well that they will never be able to buy a dress shirt in the store. Or it could be that he has a quick wit about him, a la Charles Barkley and the Big Baby…..guys whose mere presence lights up a room by saying something that makes otherwise jaded reporters put down their complimentary bag of potato chips and actually crack a smile on their weather-beaten faces.
But then I realized it was none of these things. No, my affection for the Wooster harkens back to a simpler day….a time when I was a child, and there were no message boards, no nameless posters who cursed my name, no Alan Cutl….actually he was on the air, but you get my drift. Yes, back in this simpler time, one person stood out for me….the immortal Gimel Martinez.
Prior to Gimel, my top UK players followed the normal path. I liked Sam Bowie, Kenny Walker, Rex Chapman and then Eastern Kentucky Idol Richie Farmer. But along the time that every one else fell for Jamal Mashburn, I began liking the goofy guy with the moustache that caused Rick Pitino to hide in a bathroom. Gimel was everything that a basketball player is not. He was awkward looking, his play a deadly combination of elbows and broken noses. He had a moustache, and then later a goatee, that was either way ahead or behind his time…..but definitely not a part of it. He was tall, but demanded to only shoot three pointers, a habit that drove my grandfather crazy, but was the envy of this 6′1′ 12 year old who was never allowed to take his game out to the perimeter. Yes Gimel had it all, and his Gloria Estefan style delighted my Middlesboro abode.
After Gimel, the goofiness faded a bit for UK. Sure there was a Todd Svoboda flat top here, a Matt Heisenhoooootal weight gain there…..but in general, Kentucky basketball didnt have the character that I so needed. But in the same way that a former military hero named Kennedy would produce three sons that would all have a dramatic impact on American life…..a sparkling 2007 recruiting class upped the goofy quotient out the door with a deadly twosome that may never be topped….the Shagari/Woo combo (”Shaggy and Scooby Woo”). We have now lost Shagari thanks to the deadly combination of the lure of Manhattan and the Kryptonite-like repellant of the inside of a classroom. But Woo remains for a few more weeks. Maybe goofiness will come in other forms…..a 7 foot British center whose myspace name is “Big Black Member” has potential…..but I worry. In the world of goofy UK players, are we heading for an ending like the Merle Haggard song…..
“Are the Good Times Really Over for Good?”
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January 31st, 2007 at 1:03 am
He had to be one of my least favorite players of all time!! Sorry Gimel!
January 31st, 2007 at 1:04 am
That was an awful sweet article, Matt. I tell my friends and father pretty often that Gimel might just be my favorite UK player of all time, for all the reasons you listed. That and the fact that people wore those goofy mustache things in the crowd for him. We should start wearing Woo sweaters to the game in honor of our now Prince of Goofiness. Oh, how I do miss Gimel. I eagerly anticipate his divine return.
January 31st, 2007 at 1:16 am
Ok, I loved Uwe Blab…. Wow! I’ve carried that for so long.
January 31st, 2007 at 1:37 am
ol jimi martinez was an unhonored guest at the tennessee game on sunday. wasn’t a highly regarded recruit coming out of high school?
January 31st, 2007 at 1:41 am
Gimel was a fav of mine also…
January 31st, 2007 at 1:42 am
You should do a “where are they now” piece on him..
January 31st, 2007 at 5:17 am
Martinez was from Miami Senior, correct?
January 31st, 2007 at 6:36 am
#6 yes.
#3 Top 50-75 range.
January 31st, 2007 at 7:13 am
Ah Gimel, watching you shoot was like watching Courtney Love take a sobriety test
Or like watching Shagari Alleyne try to read (heck, I was in his COM 181 class, and let me tell you, that guy won’t win any Pulitzers any time soon)
Or like watching Ramel Bradley practicing humility
We could sure use a guy who fought as hard as Gimel Martinez on this year’s team. He was only 6′8″ (with the normal Pitino-era height exaggeration) but played like he was 6′2″ with steel-plated elbows. The guy seriously took a Dennis-Rodman-esque approach to rebounding, unafraid to harm (or kill, for that matter) anyone between his gangly ass and the ball.
January 31st, 2007 at 7:15 am
Gimel was light years ahead of Woo in the talent department but is similar in the awkward department. In the toughness department he was like Billy Jack compared to Woo being like Billy Jean King. He took stuff from nobody, but did love the perimeter.
January 31st, 2007 at 7:30 am
Lot of man-love in that story. Do you swoon at clips of the old tight-shorts Larry Bird days?
January 31st, 2007 at 8:03 am
Back in the day, a friend and of mine and I were playing catch outside of Keeneland Hall. Gimel walks by and the ball got away from us and he threw it back to us. Never saw a more awkward throw in my life. I think it bounced 4-5 times before it got to me, and I was about 30 feet away. Truly horrible.
I blame Tubby.
January 31st, 2007 at 8:08 am
lol. I remember being a 11 year old, playing basketball at the barn, using a marker to paint a moustache on my face so I could be my favorite UK player.
January 31st, 2007 at 8:13 am
How can you leave out the first time knew Gimel was going to be a dandy? Remember when he spit on the Russian? That game, the spring before he came to Lexington, left an indelible impression on me.
The Russian drives the lane, elbows flying, and knocks Gimel back to the Memorial Coliseum windows. With people in between, Gimel spit on the dude. Very weak comeback, but as my Dad said when we saw the 2 inch gash under his eye after the guy, “you have to do something.”
Don’t worry, with Rigot and Hansen on the recruiting trail, I don’t think the “good times” will ever be over.
January 31st, 2007 at 8:15 am
Didn’t Gimel Martinez foul out of a lot of games at UK? For some reason, he seems to me like someone who was always in foul trouble during his UK career. Heck he may have just committed another foul as we speak right now.
January 31st, 2007 at 8:33 am
I remember his family moving up from the FLA, his sister was in one of my classes, looked alot like him. Minus the stache, and the dark hair. Mashburn and him would come to the girls JV games to watch her play. But they didn’t really stand out among the 32 other people there.
January 31st, 2007 at 8:54 am
Matt, did not know you were from Bell Co. I posted about the beer can shooter from Arjay yesterday and just saw your response. I’m not from Arjay, I’m a Trooper that lives and works in Bell. I’m sure you remember the beer can incident.
January 31st, 2007 at 9:06 am
So no recruiting news today - just a Gimel Martinez love-fest. OK, I’m in. My wife and I used to always groan when he came into the game. We pronounced his name “Gim-uhl”. But he did give his all every time he played. And you can’t hate a guy with a schnozz like that.
January 31st, 2007 at 9:18 am
We nick named Gimel the mop. He was always wiping up the floor as he constantly fell!
January 31st, 2007 at 9:19 am
I called him Frank Zappa.
Question: Do UK fans most always have to have somebody on the team to loathe? Or does it just happen by coincidence?
- Rob Lock
- Gimel Martinez
- Jared Prickett
- Saul Smith
- Josh Carrier
- Sheray Thomas
I appreciate the contribution these players made to the program, and they’ll always be Wildcats, but these guys just seem(ed) to be the lightning rods for fan ire.
January 31st, 2007 at 9:23 am
I’ve always liked Gimel. He made some big shots and he took some bad shots. I think I liked him most for how he’d always get tangled up with Robert Horry, and give him fits.
January 31st, 2007 at 9:46 am
I love Gimel. My only regret is that Laetner stepped on Timberlake instead of Gimel. Somehow I don’t see Gimel letting him get out that with his body parts intact.
January 31st, 2007 at 9:51 am
KB, didn’t one of the Unforgettables (Sean Woods?) say that, of that entire team, Timberlake was the ONLY player who wouldn’t have jumped up and been ready to fight Prissy Chrissy?
January 31st, 2007 at 10:01 am
Jimmy Martinez. I have a hard time forgiving or forgetting his decision
to try to take over the game in the final four against michigan when every
three point shot looked good for him.
Was that a Hanson recruit? Just Kidding
January 31st, 2007 at 10:09 am
Life is short and hard….like a bodybuilding midget…
January 31st, 2007 at 10:37 am
#22 You would be correct. He said that during an interview looking back at the 92′ game with Duke.
January 31st, 2007 at 11:10 am
That ‘91-’92 team had the worst centers in the history of basketball.
Martinez started most of the games for them, and scored 6.9 points
per game. It didn’t get any better after that, because the alternatives,
both of whom started on occasion, were Freshmen Andre Riddick (1.9
points per game and a ridiculous 26% at the foul line) and
Timberlake (1.1 points per game, 30% from the field, 31% from the
foul line).
The Duke game is pretty instructive– those three guys combined to
play 29 minutes, score six points (five by Martinez), grab a TOTAL
of zero rebounds, and managed one assist, one steal, three
turnovers, and eight fouls.
Makes our current power forwards look downright proficient.
January 31st, 2007 at 11:13 am
23, at the risk of being a Martinez apologist, he was 0-for-2 from
three point land in that game. And he did hit 50% from threes on the
season. Granted that was 17-for-34, so he wasn’t Steve Kerr or
anything, but shooting the three wasn’t as absurd as it seems like
it was.
January 31st, 2007 at 11:31 am
My dad always called him “Gimel the Smell”, used to crack me up!
January 31st, 2007 at 11:35 am
Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat … it’s nice to reflect back and compare the 91-92 team to todays team. Maybe we’re a little hard on OTS and his staff, it has been worse.
January 31st, 2007 at 11:39 am
UK needs an Ostertag clone, like yesterday!
January 31st, 2007 at 11:41 am
To further de-mythologize Pitino, I am 99% sure that Gimel was
actually a Top 40 recruit. (If my memory is right in the 30-40 range).
If this is true, then to see a bigger bust than Gimel, you might
have to catch a “Girls Next Door” marathon.
Joe
January 31st, 2007 at 11:51 am
Me not know what speak of… #32
Marvin Stone look like wilda beast slow and bored on floor. Gimel greater than Starv’in Marvin
January 31st, 2007 at 11:56 am
33, This is true. At least Gimel could shoot.
Joe
January 31st, 2007 at 11:59 am
#28 Your going to turn this into a Tubby debate - drawing the ire of Matt Jones!
January 31st, 2007 at 12:52 pm
27, heh, that’s what was so awesome about Pitino’s teams… everyone would shoot a 3
January 31st, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Gimel Martinez was 1st team All-State and highly regarded as HS player in 1990.
He was of Cuban ancestry (or so I read in TCP back then) and missed Cuban food around Lexington.
January 31st, 2007 at 1:54 pm
When his shorts “jingle”? Santa Claus Woo???
January 31st, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Why was my post deleted, it wasn’t even a post about our mediocre coaching staff? In fact, Tubby wasn’t even in it at all? Are we now not allowed to praise former coaches?
January 31st, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I seem to recall Gimel spitting on a Russian player in an exhibition game.
Gimel had a bit of a temper
January 31st, 2007 at 3:29 pm
41, It’s odd, you would think a Cuban and a
Russian would get along. Communism and all that.
January 31st, 2007 at 3:38 pm
So did the Bay of Pigs, but it’s all in your history book.
January 31st, 2007 at 3:43 pm
27, and yet that ‘91-’92 team was a miracle shot away from beating the defending champs and getting to the Final Four.
January 31st, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Joe, that was the benefit of going up tempo. You didn’t have to have great forward/center play and you could hide the fact that you didn’t have those players. IN a half court game that gets exposed. It’s a big reason why I believe we should going at breakneck speed with this roster of 12 guards and 1 center.
January 31st, 2007 at 5:16 pm
43, yeah, it’s an astounding thing… And I’m not so sure they
would have tuckered out at the Final Four. They’d already beaten
Indiana once that year, and while the Fab Five were Fab, they were
also freshmen.
It’s worth noting that it also probably helped Pitino to be able to
work Mashburn in at center now and again.
January 31st, 2007 at 5:30 pm
I dressed up as Gimel for Halloween one year when I was like 10. I just wore a UK jersey and one of those fake moustache / big nose disguises you always see in movies (minus the glasses) and I looked dead on, except like 3 feet shorter.
January 31st, 2007 at 7:03 pm
Vandy’s good for tall guys with weird last names who shoot the 3.
Hopefully they’ll be able to beat Florida and it’s goofy looking tall guy tonight.
January 31st, 2007 at 9:37 pm
The Buzzard!
January 31st, 2007 at 9:47 pm
How about Gimel getting punked and punched by Big Shot Rob Horry in rupp back in the day….able to pick himself up of the floor and contribute some valuable points/boards in a KY win. BTW did Associate Head Coach David Hobbs bring all of that talent to T-town?
January 31st, 2007 at 11:02 pm
That pic is my avatar on TCP. I jacked it from the C-J website. They did do a where are they now story on him a couple months back…may have even been longer than that by now.
If you search the CJ online archives you may be able to find the story.
January 31st, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Well, I just have to check in here and comment on the many remarks made about and for my good and comely brother Gimel by these Kentucky people
First of all, Gimel did not leave America because of the food. Big Gim enjoyed a Crave Case with the best of them. Frankly, he told me once he would kill for a sack o’ sliders and a six-pack of Stroh’s
Next, it is a popular myth that Gimmy took a poke from Robert Horry. False. Untrue. Bunk. He was under orders from Coach Ricky (who by the way is widely loved in my native country as the popular TV wife of Lucy Ricardo) to take a fall with a sucker punch from the ‘Bama Bomber.
Finally, and he told me this under extreme duress and must be the God’s truth, that Tom Gray sucks dead dog dicks.
Adios amigos, from the land of the beautiful black women and the cool blue Caribbean waters.
Migs
February 1st, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Awww, look at all the love.
I’m not really him. But I’m also a huge Gimel fan. Back when I was young and not smart enough to actually read up on my UK players, I called him “The Mexican Massacre”, since where ever he was on the court, something horrible would happen. Of course, he’s Cuban, so my nickname is worthless.
My grandfather probably cursed Gimel more than any other player of those teams, and almost as much as he did the refs.
I just thought it was great that he looked like a complete goofball while he was trying his best from freshmen through first half of his junior year. However, that last half of his junior year, he stopped looking so goofy and started acting like he was a ball player. That senior year he played with confidence and didn’t hit the ground so much. And he wasn’t a walking fouling machine either.
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