Nick Martinelli: An Unstoppable Scorer

Maybe the Northwestern staff knew back in 2022 that Martinelli could become the best scorer in the Big Ten. It's hard to imagine that even they could've seen this level of talent develop within Martinelli when he de-committed from Elon and eventually became a Wildcat.

That's who Martinelli has become, one of the elite scorers in not only the Big Ten, but all of college basketball. Success hasn't found the Wildcats this season, and Martinelli has publicly made it known how hard that's been on him. However, Martinelli is still a player that deserves recognition for not only becoming the player he's become, but for doing it for four years at Northwestern. I'm sure he could've gotten a lot of money to go play somewhere else this offseason, but he stayed true to himself and his team, something that deserves acknowledgement.

Martinelli's Rise

Coming out of high school, Nick Martinelli was an unranked recruit who didn't even have a picture in his 247sports profile.

He averaged 22.8 points and 6.6 rebounds a game his senior season and was an all-state player in Illinois. He was committed to Elon before a coaching change happened, and eventually Northwestern popped in and got him.

Martinelli wasn't one of these guys that just came in and immediately made big impacts. He played in 20 games his freshman season, averaging 2.6 points per game in those contests. He didn't really become part of the rotation until about halfway through the season.

Then, Martinelli started to take the sophomore jump, starting 11 games, playing in all of them, and averaging 8.8 points in 26 minutes a game. That was Boo Buie's last year at Northwestern, and although Martinelli was probably 4th or 5th on the pecking order, he still started to really flash what he was capable of, including a 27 point output against Maryland.

This led him to having the year he did last year, in part because of injuries, but also because he just became that good. He helped claw an injury-riddled Northwestern team to a 17-16 record, while averaging a Big Ten leading 20.5 points per game. His minutes jumped to 37.6 minutes a game, also leading the Big Ten, and he took twice as many shots per game than he did during his sophomore season.

Which now leads us to the year he's having this season. He's averaging a career high 23.4 points per game, while shooting a career high in 2P%, 3P%, and FT%. As of January 27th, Martinelli has scored double figures in every game but one (he had 9 points against Virginia in November). He's scored 20+ points in 16 of the 19 games, and he's scored 30+ points in 3 games. As of this writing, the last time he scored less than 20 points was on December 3rd when he had 14 points against Wisconsin.

Safe to say, even with defenses selling out on Martinelli more, he's been a bucket.

What Martinelli Has Been Doing

As stated above, Martinelli is having his most efficient season of his career, and he's also doing it while having the highest usage of his career. He's currently shooting 55.6% from 2 on 12.3 attempts per game, 48.1% from 3 on 2.7 attempts per game, and he's shooting 79.7% from the free throw line on 7.3 attempts per game, a career high.

We'll start with the three point shooting, as that's the first thing that'll jump off the page when comparing stats year to year. Martinelli shot 33.3% from three last year on 2.9 attempts a game. This year that's up to 48.1% on 2.7 attempts a game. It's not the focal part of his game at all, but he's developed the jumper into a legitimate weapon. It's not necessarily that Northwestern is getting him better looks from three, he simply is just making a lot more of them. On the season, Martinelli is shooting 12/27 (44.4%) on contested catch and shoot threes, and he's 12/20 (60.0%) on open catch and shoot threes. He's getting about the same quality of looks as last season, he just now has become one of the more efficient shooters in the country (on low volume).

Above shows the percentage of possessions ended in each category for Nick Martinelli, comparing last season to this season. THIS feels like a big reason why Martinelli is not only scoring more, but doing it more efficiently while seeing more defensive attention.

The big number that jumps out is isolation rate. Last year, nearly 17% of Martinelli's possessions ended in isolation, one of the highest rates for an individual in the country. Now, credit to him for being mildly efficient in all of those looks, but it was far from his most efficient area of scoring. For reference, he averaged 0.895 points per chance out of isolation. This season that number is down to 0.5 points per chance, but the usage has plummeted. Instead, Northwestern is utilizing Martinelli more within the flow of the offense to generate his looks by having him screen and roll more and also work more in the post.

Thinking through it, this inherently does make some sense. Last season, Northwestern was expecting to have a 2 man attack of Brooks Barnhizer and Nick Martinelli, both who can feast out of isolation. Jalen Leach and Ty Berry were able to provide the needed spacing, and the combo of Barnhizer and Leach could efficiently run the offense. However, once both Barnhizer and Leach went down with injuries, Northwestern lost their two biggest creators within the offense. KJ Windham and Jordan Clayton, who actually burned a redshirt with 10 games remaining of the season, did well enough to fill in, but most of that usage went directly to Martinelli. The easiest way to get offense was simply to let Martinelli cook.

Fast-forward to this season, and Northwestern had a full off season to figure out how to maximize Martinelli, and they've done just that.

Above shows the shot chart for Nick Martinelli this season. It's pretty easy to see like this why he's been a dominant scorer. He has developed into the definition of a three level scorer.

Above shows the shot chart for Martinelli last season. The mid range stuff is about the same as last year, and the relative amount of shots he takes in each area is about the same. The two big areas of improvement though are the three point shooting and finishing at the rim. Martinelli shot just 59.1% at the rim last season but is up to above 70% this year. Some of that comes from how Martinelli has developed physically throughout his time at Northwestern, putting on 25 pounds since his freshman season. He's stronger now, and he needs it because of his style of play.

How Martinelli Has Been Doing It

Here, we can finally look through the film and see what exactly Martinelli has been doing this season to be the 4th leading scorer in the country, behind Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybansta, and Dior Johnson.

Starting with the post ups, Martinelli has been one of the more elite post players in the country, despite being listed at just 6'7. He's currently shooting 57.4% on post ups, and he's in the top 10% of post up efficiency for individuals.

More than anything, Martinelli wants to get over his right shoulder to his lefty hook and floater. On the season, he only has gone over his left shoulder on 14% of his post ups. Despite everyone in the entire gym knowing what Martinelli wants to do, no one can really stop it. Martinelli is shooting 63% in the post when he gets to that left hand over his right shoulder.

One of the more common ways that Northwestern will work Martinelli into the post is based on him sealing after setting some sort of screen. In this one, Martinelli sets a Ram screen, a down screen for someone who eventually goes and sets a ball screen. The down screen itself is somewhat irrelevant, as this is really more of a ploy to vacate the block so Martinelli has space. As the ball screen gets set up top, Martinelli works to quickly hit his guy and seal so there can be either a post entry pass, or Martinelli can seal his defender if Reid were to drive. Once Martinelli gets the ball, he's pretty efficient in his movement to get to that "flipper" shot that we'll talk about shortly.

A similar type concept happens in the play above. Martinelli sets a pindown screen, forcing Kohler to step just a bit up. Once this happens, Martinelli immediately goes to sealing, and again, this is all just simply about creating both the space and passing angle for Martinelli to get the ball. Here he showed off the ever-improving jumper, choosing to rise up over the top of Kohler.

And of course, there are just times where Northwestern simply says "get the ball to Martinelli in the post and good luck to the defense." Now even though Martinelli isn't involved much in the action before getting the ball, it's worth pointing out the timing, as that's been the key for getting Martinelli the ball in the post. As the Iverson cut happens across the elbows, Martinelli isn't just standing on the block and waiting for the ball. Instead, he opts to time up his seal, making his cut to the block as West received the ball on the elbow. This allows a more efficient post entry pass, and from there, well... good luck to the defense.

Hitting Martinelli as a roller has been a much bigger emphasis this season for the Wildcats. As shown above, Martinelli has been used as a screener much more this season, but he's also been much more efficient in those looks. Last year he had a True Shooting % of 49.7%, and this year it's up to 68.1% on rolls.

What's even more impressive with those numbers is that Martinelli doesn't get to the rim much out of rolls. He's often a short roller who'll put up a 15 foot jumper or floater. He isn't a lob threat, as he only has 3 dunks on the season.

In the clip above, Martinelli ends up as the screener in an Empty corner pick and roll, meaning that there is no Northwestern player in the strong side corner. MSU high hedges the screen, which then opens up the short roll for Martinelli since there isn't much help defense. Martinelli immediately rises up for a 12 foot floater.

The quickness of his decisions can go under the radar at times. Yes, there are possessions where Martinelli may hold the ball for 2-3 seconds before isoing. However, there are plenty of possessions within the flow of the offense where Martinelli has to decide as he's catching whether he needs to go to his floater or not. This one above was one of the ones where he seemed to decide before even catching the ball.

Above is another example of Martinelli being a short roller out of an empty corner pick and roll. Notice in this one though how Martinelli doesn't roll close to the rim, instead opting to flare out a bit and stay around the 15 foot mark. This gives him the space he needs to be able to once again catch and immediately go into his floater.

One other area that Northwestern will sprinkle with Martinelli is him moving off of pindowns. It isn't super high usage, as Martinelli is averaging about 1.5 attempts per game coming off of an off-ball screen, but it has been incredibly effective when they've gone to it.

Northwestern likes working some of these off ball screens into their baseline out of bounds sets. Here they utilize a screen the screener action to allow Martinelli to curl for a mid range shot.

In the clip above, it's as simple as the defense simply not expecting Martinelli to shoot as soon as he catches it. It's not that there's a very aggressive screen from Reid onto Martinelli's man, but rather, Martinelli once again making a quick decision and making the defense pay.

With how much defensive attention Martinelli gets, he knows that he has to put up any good look he gets, since he may not get too many of them. However, he has arguably one of the most unstoppable shots in college basketball, coined as a "flipper".

This flipper shot is a floater and push shot combination that allows him to generate a lot of very creative looks in the paint.

On the season, Martinelli is averaging 3.1 push shots a game, the 8th most in college basketball. He's shooting an absurd 56.9% on these shots, which is the 89th best percentage in college basketball. However, when you filter for players who average at least 1.5 attempts per game, Martinelli is 4th in the country for field goal percentage.

So how does Martinelli make one of the most difficult shots in college basketball a truly efficient one for him?

It starts simply with his touch. Everything that Martinelli shoots comes off the rim incredibly soft, and he's able to get a lot of bounces to go his way. In addition to the touch, he has this ability to quickly process how far away he is, where the defense is, and what adjustments he needs to be able to make in order to get to his shot. When you have as much confidence in a shot as he does with his flipper, good things will happen.

In the clip above, Martinelli's going to end up attacking a closeout to get downhill. He doesn't necessarily gain a ton of leverage on the drive, but he get just enough so that as he goes into his look, he has the bit of space he needs. With how much he's been able to get to the free throw line, another really important aspect of his efficiency this season, you can see Sandfort really trying to stay vertical and avoid contact.

This is another post up/isolation that we see from Martinelli. As he eventually gets to the flipper, what's so impressive is that this is an off leg shot. While being pretty well defended, Martinelli goes off of his left foot, an unorthodox shot since he's left handed as well. But the details matter for Martinelli as he isn't going to be the most athletic player on the court almost ever. Instead, he utilizes footwork and timing to get to his spots. Notice that as he's starting to gather to go up for the shot, he bumps into the Valpo defender. This, combined with immediately going off his left foot, gives Martinelli all the separation he needs to be able to get a look up.

If you made it this far in the article... 1 - thanks. 2 - here's a Nick Martinelli circus shot for your viewing pleasure.

Hang it in the Louvre, this shot went in. As Martinelli is releasing the ball, he has already jumped past the basket, and he ends up landing almost outside the paint. As this is happening, not one, but TWO DePaul defenders wall up on Martinelli. So what does he do? Well he opts to basically sky hook the ball over and behind him to the basket while moving away.

We can talk all we want about how Martinelli's usage, three point percentage, and free throw rate have all played large parts into Martinelli being a walking bucket, and those are very important parts for sure (or else this entire article would've been a waste of time). However, at some point, sometimes it's as simple as he's an incredibly gifted basketball player who has worked hard for 4 years, stuck true to what he does, and has become a master of wild shots.

Thinking back, maybe this was the most likely outcome for a player as (positively) unorthodox as himself, someone who still jumps when he takes free throw attempts. Maybe he was just meant to score in ways we simply don't always understand.