“Jordan sent me these, I’m wearing them” – Kenyon Martin recalls getting injured because he played in brand-new Jordan’s originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Numerous unfulfilled college basketball careers were cut short by injury. One of the biggest what-ifs in college basketball history, to many fans, is Kenyon Martin going down with a season-ending broken right leg with ligaments damaged during the first game of the 2000 USA Conference tournament.
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Martin, a senior with the Cincinnati Bearcats, went down three minutes into the quarterfinal clash with St.Louis. He went to set a screen, and St.Louis’ guard Justin Love bumped into him, which caused K-Mart’s right leg to collapse, eventually breaking his fibula and tearing his ligaments.
“Tore the ligaments in my ankle and broke my fibula, your ligaments wrap around your bones, of course. So I snapped my toe into the ligaments, and it popped my fibula; it was like a vibration,” Martin said on “The OG’s” podcast, consisting of former players Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem.
The injury shook up the college basketball scene, but the reason behind it was the most bizarre one yet.
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Martin’s Jordans
Kenyon eventually told Mike and Udonis what really caused the injury. He was a strong player who shouldn’t go down after a simple bump during a screen.
“Man, you know I was strong as an ox, like ain’t got no body fat ain’t got nothing and just one of them things man,” K-Mart said.
The most fascinating part of the injury is that Martin blames it entirely on his shoes. An agent sent him unreleased Jordan shoes as a bribe to sign with him.
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“Well, I brought it upon myself, really. The shoes that I had on, I was told not to wear them. Yeah, one of them hardheads, you know, people trying to get you to sign, agent trying to get you to sign, and they sent some shoes in the mail. But just don’t wear them yet, right ain’t nobody got these man,” Kenyon emphasized, later on adding that the urge to wear them was too powerful not to.
“We got Jordan on our chest. Jordan sent me these. I’m wearing them. Got right out there. First half, college career over,” he recalled the decision that ended his college career.
Wearing new shoes without breaking them in can cause injuries, especially for basketball players. Fresh kicks are often stiff and restrain the foot’s natural movement, which can cause strains and tears.
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K-Mart’s legacy
Martin was one of the most dominant big men college basketball had ever seen. During his senior year, Kenyon averaged 18.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game, earning a First-team All-American selection and every individual award, both offensive and defensive, imaginable, except for the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament, due to his injury.
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“You know you’re a monster when you break your foot and still go number one,” Miller emphatically started the podcast.
Although his broken fibula and torn ligaments in his ankle prevented him from ending the most dominant season in college basketball history, the New Jersey Nets still selected K-Mart as the number one pick in the 2000 NBA Draft.
While the injury might have cost him a run at the title in his most dominant college season, the respect Martin gets for his college career is unmatched. The level of play Kenyon portrayed during his last season resonates with fans and former players to this day.
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The ego in Martin, which was prevalent in the decision to wear the shoes, cost him his college career and his Cincinnati Bearcats and eventual national title, which would have cemented K-Mart’s senior season as one of the greatest in college basketball history, if not the greatest.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
