Inside The Huskies

Huskies Beat Point Guard in November, Now Talking to Him in Portal

Martin Somerville visited Montlake with UMass Lowell and left town with a 74-69 loss.
Dan Raley|
Gonzaga guard Nolan Hickman (11) looks to make a move on UMass Lowell guard Martin Somerville.
Gonzaga guard Nolan Hickman (11) looks to make a move on UMass Lowell guard Martin Somerville. | James Snook-Imagn Images

He was one of those anonymous faces who came through Alaska Airlines Arena during the preseason, in his case playing in his fourth college basketball game while coming off the bench as a freshman point guard.

In mid-November on a Sunday night, Martin Somerville drew 22 minutes for UMass Lowell, scored 6 points, made 2 of 7 shots and dished out a solitary assist in a 74-69 loss to the University of Washington.

While it wasn't much of an audition, the Huskies reportedly have reached out to the 6-foot-3 playmaker this week after he entered the transfer portal, which only means they're talking or have talked.

Others apparently see what Danny Sprinkle's staff does, with Alabama, Louisville, Memphis, Northwestern and USC among other schools that have made contact.

Somerville, who's from Bowie, Maryland, started 11 of 28 games for a 17-15 UMass team and averaged 13.6 points and 3.7 assists per outing.

It was the latter number that seems to interest everyone. He had 13 assists alone against UMBC, also know as the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

A 6-foot-3 player who can dish the ball always will get a second look.

Somerville showed he could score when needed, offering up a season-high 26 points agains NJIT and dropping 22 points on Boston University.

UMass Lowell made him play as a reserve for the first 13 games on the schedule before gradually turning the offense over to him.

In Seattle, he faced the Huskies on a Sunday night before a crowd of 5,378, two days after laboring through a 59-point loss at Gonzaga.

Even if offered, Somerville might not want to return to the Northwest because of the painful memories.

To get the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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