We saw the play yesterday where Kenyon Martin broke his leg, and it was fairly horrifying. For Cincinnati, of course, it was a terrible thing, and will almost certainly cost them a great shot at the Final Four. As Coach K said, it's also not good for college basketball to lose the Player Of The Year on the eve of the tournament.
There has also been some speculation that Martin, having come back for his senior year, will be viewed as Poster Boy For Bad Decisions. Not in our book.
First of all, he's apparently on target to get his degree. That's unusual for a guy in his position these days - most of them are in the NBA by year 2 - and particularly so for Cincinnati, which has graduated about a dozen players during Huggins' tenure.
He's a gutty kid, and someone who clearly has his priorities in the right place. As he has just learned, an athletic career could end at any given moment, and you have to have a second plan to go to. And aside from that, being educated is a reward in itself.
Fortunately for Martin, a complete recovery if forecast. So he'll join the NBA, hopefully have a great career, and start his professional life with a degree.
Keep in mind this could have happened to him in the way it happened to former Bearcat Dontonio Wingfield, who grossly overestimated his potential and whose career ended with an auto accident. Last we heard, he needed a cane and not only did he not have a degree but was facing jail time.
So while his injury was sad for him and his teammates first of all, and college basketball in general, let's be happy that Kenyon has his priorities in the right place and applaud his maturity. That same maturity will lead him back to greatness soon enough.