MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — The next step sits right in front of Tynice Martin, yet she is unable to take it.
“The most frustrating thing right now is you have all of these questions and there are no answers,” the former WVU women’s basketball star guard said Tuesday from her home in Atlanta.
The Mountaineers were in Kansas City, Mo. preparing to play in the Big 12 tournament when news hit that the remainder of the season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After five years, a Big 12 championship in 2017 and 1,980 points scored, that was how Martin’s career came to an end.
No fancy sendoff. No rounds of applause.
Even when the team returned to Morgantown, Martin said she was notified by WVU head coach Mike Carey that there was nothing she would be able to do athletically at the school.
“We were told to basically get everything packed up,” she said. “I terminated my lease and drove home. We had nothing to come back for. They canceled graduation. They canceled our team banquet. Classes were online. It’s not the way I certainly pictured things happening.”
Even though the start of the WNBA season has been postponed — it was originally scheduled to begin May 15 — the league is still planning a virtual draft on April 17 on ESPN. No players or media will be in attendance.
At some point during the three-round draft, Martin will hear her name called.
When? That’s an answer she does not have. The league is only permitted to call players prior to the draft. Any scouting teams do will come from game film.
Martin said she has not heard from any teams at this point.
Internet mock drafts — each round consists of 12 picks — have her slotted early in the second round.
“My dad is really big into looking at all of those,” she said. “I really don’t pay much attention to them.”
Martin’s career covered the team’s magical run to the 2017 Big 12 tournament championship and two NCAA tournament appearances.
She was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 Big 12 tournament after averaging 27.3 points in three games and leading WVU to a 77-66 upset of Baylor.
It also saw her fracture her foot while working out with Team USA that summer, forcing her to miss the 2017-18 season. Martin missed the first two games this season coming off a suspension for a violation of team rules.
She finished fourth on the school’s all-time scoring list.
“Being under coach Carey, I really learned not just about basketball, but also the business side to it,” Martin said. “Academically, I’ve grew so much as a student-athlete. You’re really living a double life as a student-athlete, so I had to learn about time management.
“I loved that I was able to be part of the community and meet so many different people who supported us. It was a long ride. I’m just so sad that it ended the way it did.”
While at home, Martin said she is working with a personal trainer and does have some gym availability.
“I’m trying to stay as prepared as possible,” she said. “Everything is up in the air. I’ve heard there might not even be a (WNBA) season if the NBA is playing through the summer. We’ve looked at playing overseas, but those leagues are all shut down right now, too. You just don’t know what’s going to happen, which is frustrating.”
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