Men’s basketball player reviews: Nick Martinelli

Moreover, even though Martinelli’s dominance came bearing the jersey of a sub-.500 team, his season wasn’t short of spectacular moments. On January 11, in a heartbreaking 77-75 ‘Cats loss to Rutgers, Martinelli dropped a career high 34 points on 11-for-22 shooting, adding 12 rebounds on the glass. Just 18 days later, the forward tied this career mark, dropping 34 points against Penn State to snap a three-game losing streak at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Though, like last year, the best moment of Martinelli’s senior season also came at the buzzer, when his signature left-handed floater gave the ‘Cats a 63-62 win over Oregon on February 28:

Despite averaging two fewer minutes per game than he did in 2024–25, Martinelli improved on his junior-year production across virtually every meaningful metric, finishing the year with per game averages of 23.0 points (1st in B1G), 6.2 rebounds (17th in B1G) and 2.0 assists. It was truly a remarkable season for the Glenview-native.

The Bad

It’s hard to criticize the man who was the face of Northwestern basketball for the past two seasons.

In a lot of ways, I don’t think Martinelli could’ve done anything more to help an ailing ‘Cats team. But, Martinelli knows better than anybody that there are things that he can improve upon that will help him in his fight for a roster spot on the NBA level. For me, there are three things that Martinelli should look to focus on in the offseason as he gets ready for professional ball:

1. Defensive “switchability”: In the NBA, defensive “switchability” and one-on-one discipline are non-negotiable for fringe roster players. This past season, Martinelli did have his struggles on the defensive end, finishing with an 0.71 defensive Bayesian player rating (per EvanMiya.com) that ranked seventh on Northwestern. Oftentimes, Martinelli finds himself too slow to defend elite guards, but too small — and not physical enough — to defend more powerful forwards. He will need to become a more matchup-proof defender to excel in the league.
2. Right-hand finishing: Martinelli is excellent at getting downhill and finishing through contact, but he strongly relies on finishing with his left hand when finishing around the rim. NBA defenders will quickly scout those tendencies, making it critical for him to become more comfortable with his right doing everything he can do with his left. Developing more confidence with right-handed floaters, layups, and touch finishes would make him less predictable and allow him to maintain his efficiency against NBA defense and athleticism.
3. Three-point shooting: As mentioned above, this is an area where Martinelli took a big jump in the 2025-26 season. After shooting a combined 31.3% from three in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, Martinelli jumped to 41.7% this past season, shooting 0.5 more threes per game. However, most of Martinelli’s looks from behind-the-arc were still pretty wide open this past year, meaning that, on a whole, the basketball world still doesn’t trust him to be a consistent three-point threat. In the NBA, teams are always searching for wings who can space the floor, meaning that Martinelli’s continued development on the perimeter will be big for his NBA roster chances.

The Bottom Line

In every way, Nick Martinelli is a legend of Northwestern basketball.

Entering his senior season, Martinelli was the reigning Big Ten scoring champion and an All-Big Ten Second Team honoree. He could’ve hit the portal and signed a lucrative deal at any top college basketball program of his choosing, but he chose to stay in Evanston to lead a team without any major tournament expectations. Playing a fourth season as a ‘Cat, he bested his 2025 Northwestern single-season scoring record by 83 points, claiming a second-straight Big Ten scoring crown. Martinelli ends his time as a Wildcat ranked No. 6 on Northwestern’s all-time scoring list, as one of the greatest scorers to ever play in Welsh-Ryan Arena.

The future for Martinelli on the hardwood is uncertain. In most NBA mock drafts, Martinelli is projected as a late second-round pick who will have to fight his way onto an NBA team. Similarly to Brook Barnhizer’s journey over the past year, most likely, Martinelli will spend time in the G-league and have to fight his way onto an NBA roster.

But, no matter what comes next for the forward, he will always be remembered in Evanston as the No. 2 in purple: Nicky Buckets.