The end of the Skyhawks’ postseason in March marked not only the end of the season but also the end of some players’ Skyhawk careers. Most notably, junior guard Tarence Guinyard, senior forward Vladimer Salaridze and junior guard Josué Grullon.
Something that has become almost regular in this new era of NIL, the best of the Skyhawks have entered the transfer portal in search of a better opportunity elsewhere. Similar to last year with Kenny White, Jacob Crews and Jordan Sears, the Skyhawks will have a lot of production to replace in their stead.
Tarence Guinyard, an offensive engine, ball carrier and leader for the Skyhawks, was a transfer to Martin from Division II Florida State College at Jacksonville and a key to the success of first-year head coach Jeremy Shulman. As the leading man for the Skyhawks, Guinyard averaged 16.3 PTS, 4.7 REB and 2.3 AST while playing 28.3 minutes a night for the Skyhawks.
According to The Portal Report, Guinyard will have plenty of teams throughout the country vying for his talents as an offensive playmaker. These include Missouri, USF, West Virginia, Utah State, Louisiana Monroe, Oklahoma State, UNLV and New Mexico.
Vladimer Salaridze was a playmaking forward for the Skyhawks with the ability to do a little bit of everything on the court. Salaridze was a transfer from Division II UC Riverside and was a glue guy on the court for the Skyhawks. Salaridze did a bit of everything, averaging 10.8 PTS, 7.8 REB, 2.6 AST and 2.0 STL in 26.4 minutes a night for the Skyhawks.
An all-around player going into his fifth season of college basketball, Salaridze had many teams courting him for his veteran presence and offensive versatility. Ultimately, Salaridze chose FCS Youngstown State of the Missouri Valley Conference as the last stop of his college career.
Finally, the Skyhawks will be losing junior combo guard Josué Grullon. Grullon, who hails from the Dominican Republic and transferred to Martin from JUCO Daytona State College, was an elite shooter off the bench for the Skyhawks, who brought a spark to the Skyhawks’ offense when it went stagnant. In just 19.6 minutes, Grullon averaged 12.2 PTS while shooting 36.2% from three.
Specialized scorers such as Grullon will always have a market in the transfer portal. However, Grullon’s offers have yet to be reported.
Other players transferring from the program include SG Matija Žužić, SG AJ Hopkins, PG Carlos Cortijo, SF Fabian Spee, C Damjan Vukčević, PF Stefan Faloppa and SG Filip Radaković
Head coach Jeremy Shulman and the Skyhawks coaching staff will have a lot of work cut out for them as they try to assemble a new team nearly from scratch for the second year in a row. The Skyhawks will need to draw in veteran talent from the portal while bringing in young talent to develop from the high school ranks.
