Bob Martin has been hired as the boys basketball coach at Calvary Day School, replacing Scepter Brownlee, who announced Monday that he is taking the boys job at Greater Atlanta Christian.
Martin has coached at Pickens in Jasper the last two seasons. This year, the Dragons went 28-2 and reached the Sweet 16 in the Class 3A state playoffs. Pickens went 21-9 in his first year at the helm and also reached the second round of the playoffs.
A coaching veteran of more than 30 years at the high school and collegiate level, Martin had previous high school stints in Georgia at Lambert and King’s Ridge Christian, where he led the Tigers to a state runnerup finish in 2022 and a Class A Division I state championship in 2023. He had a long run as an assistant coach with successful high school programs in Indiana.
He came to Georgia in 2005 and worked as an assistant boys coach at Glynn Academy, before taking a job as an assistant with the men’s team at the College of Coastal Georgia from 2008-2012 as the program moved from the junior college level to NAIA, and then with the women’s squad at Coastal Georgia in the 2012-13 season.
Martin said he has a strong connection with Calvary Day headmaster Hunter Chadwick and principal Taylor Smith, who were both at King’s Ridge when he coached there.
“Dr. Chadwick took a chance on me at King’s Ridge and we had four wins in the first season and four wins in the second before reaching the state finals and then winning the state title,” said Martin, a 51-year old native of Indiana, who played at Elkhart Christian Academy before attending Ball State University. “We stay in touch and are still close. This move wasn’t by design — everything was going well at Pickens and the community was very supportive. But I’m stepping into this job on faith, and believe Calvary is the place I need to be right now.”
Martin is inheriting a talented Calvary Day squad led by 6-foot-10 Kuol Deng and 6-foot-8 Chol Kiir, who came to the Cavaliers from South Sudan and will be seniors next season. Deng was named the Region 3-3A Co-Player of the Year and holds offers from Alabama and Florida State. Kiir was named the Region 3-3A Defensive Player of the Year.
The Cavs also have standout guards coming back in rising junior Marlon Knight Jr. and rising senior Demetrius Brown. Calvary finished with a 19-7 record last season and reached the Sweet 16 of the Class A-3A Private School playoffs.
“I’ve been able to connect with the players on social media and am looking forward to meeting them face-to-face today,” Martin said during his drive from Atlanta to Savannah on Tuesday morning. “I know they are great kids.”
Martin has been married to his wife, Shawn, for 29 years. They have three children. Isaac is sophomore guard playing at Berry College and his daughter, Bella, is a senior at Pickens who is headed to play basketball at Belmont Abbey College. His youngest son, Jamin, is a rising junior who will play for the Cavs next season.
“It’s been really cool having the family experience we’ve had around our passion for basketball,” Martin said. “It’s a great way to spend quality time together.”
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at [email protected]. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
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