By: Ryan Mack
Tyrese Martin made his Rumph Classic debut last year. It was one game, but it left an impression.
The Allentown native dropped 29 points in TBB’s 34 point thumping against Rumph Center in the 2025 tournament opener. But he never played again after that, as TBB made their way to the championship, falling to Archie Goodwin’s and Jordan Hall’s Blue Magic squad.
Nearly 365 days later, he made a return and put a bow on TBB’s title run.
“I’m not just going to tease the fans or you know hold up my trainer or my friends that I work out with just by playing one day,” Martin said. “So I made sure I committed and played all five days.”
And that Martin did, playing in every TBB game en route to the team securing the Championship after falling short in 2025. The man dubbed “The Professional” showed why with ease, hitting the layup to send TBB to the chip and then served up a 33 points, 14 rebound, three assist and three assist encore to earn MVP honors in the 103-101 win against Rumph Center.
It wasn’t just that Martin was putting up buckets, it was how he was doing it.
Every shot went in with genuine ease in the final. In the first half if the ball left his hands it felt like it was going to find the bottom of the net. Martin notched 16 points in the first half, which helped TBB surged out to a quick double digit lead.
His play, along with Darrun Hilliard and Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie, seemed to be too much for Rumph Center’s Josh Sharkey and Donta Scott.
When Rumph Center clawed their way back into the game, it was Martin who regained his hot hand to push TBB’s opponents away with a chance to clinch a championship. It started slowly in the second half, to be expected but then the temperature heated up and then Rumph Center had no answers.
It was back to regular scheduled programming, hitting deep three’s and mid ranges from the elbow. He helped TBB push the advantage back up to double figures and put Rumph Center on the ropes with 17 more in the second half and again when the lead dwindled — Martin had the answer.
The shots created gasps from the crowd or groans from people who were rooting for the underdog Rumph Center to pull off the upset.
That was Martin the entire tournament for TBB. He led the team with 23.4 points per game in their four games and whenever they needed a clutch bucket, they turned to the former Philadelphia 76ers guard for answers
“Just doing whatever it takes to get the win,” Martin said. “That’s all it was. Whatever it takes to get the win.”
When the game ended there was little doubt on who earned the MVP and now, Martin has his name enshrined in Rumph Classic lore.
“I walked in here and I saw all the names, I kept that in the back of my mind,” Martin said. “And now my name will be up there. Whether I’m in the gym or not in the gym, I’m still in the gym.”