Florida Gators Alijah Martin Seizing Leadership Role with Both Hands
![Florida Gators guard Alijah Martin has embraced his role as the elder statesman of the basketball team. Florida Gators guard Alijah Martin has embraced his role as the elder statesman of the basketball team.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2520,h_1417,x_168,y_150/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_gators/01jjs2n0pqfj2hz738d7.jpg)
No current Florida Gators player can boast the 144 career games (106 starts) that Alijah Martin has played. Basically, he's played 23 more than the nearest teammate. The grizzled veteran of the group, Martin's goal remains the exact same, and the reason why he transferred to Florida.
Martin wants to reach the Final Four one more time, and this go-round, cut down the nets ending his college career with a national championship.
Run It Back
As mentioned, Martin reached the Final Four before. In 2023, the Florida Atlantic Owls went on a magical tournament run. Martin, a three-year starter at FAU, led all scorers with 26 points before falling to San Diego State by a single point.
Since then, you can tell by the urgency and aggressiveness of his play that a return to the Final Four is on the forefront of his mind. Now, he averages 16.1 points as the Gators' second-leading scorer.
POV from my cam tonight: My fav SLAMMA JAMMAS from the @GatorsMBK and @UGAAthletics game tonight! Alijah Martin is really THAT dude. The Gators beat the Bulldogs by miles, 89-59.
— Ashley Gonzalez (@ashley_gonz14) January 26, 2025
🔥🏀 pic.twitter.com/GQjzelQ5Pp
Mental Strength
Martin readily understands the whys of college basketball, comprehending what's needed to succeed. After Saturday's blowout win over the Georgia Bulldogs, he discussed a myriad of topics, including the team's mental state.
"The mindset was just don't come out slow,” said Martin. “We've got a tendency of coming out slow, and tonight, we weren't going to do that, and once we got the ball rolling, we just kept it going...just dominate. That's all I want to do is dominate and have fun, man. That's it. Just do it for the guys."
The "all gas, no brakes" approach in the competitive SEC definitely runs counter to the expected cautious approach that some top teams will take in order to avoid trap games. Instead, Martin and Florida chose to press ahead and play fast.
For an average of 30 minutes a game, Martin's ability to not only score but defend (1.9 steals per game) and crash the glass (5.2 rpg) gives Florida the impetus to keep winning.
Bottom Line
Martin leads his team. He knows what late March, even April college basketball feels like. With that experience comes the desire to not only win during the regular season but hoist a championship.
The Gators may lack what people would consider star players, but they bring grit, toughness and a hunger to win. Alijah Martin will figure prominently in how the Gators' season wraps up. He will not only lean on his experience but also the depth of the talent, as he stated on Saturday.
"Just our depth. I don't want to say which team is better or anything like that ‘cause the teams are different and basketball is different, but both teams were pretty deep."