Welcome to the North: Raptors 2nd Draftee Alijah Martin Taps In 🎙️ | Post-Draft Presser

Welcome to the North: Raptors 2nd Draftee Alijah Martin Taps In 🎙️ | Post-Draft Presser

hey Elijah Michael Graange from Rogers Sportset congratulations um and did you have any indication that the Raptors were interested in you at the 39 pick and and why do you think they were interested in you at the 39 um I had a good amount of um indication that that that they were very interested in me um and they’re probably interested in me just you know looking back at my my my college career you know u impacted winning both both sides of the ball um elite elite role guy and just you know just ready to win so and the ultimate competitor hi Aaron Rose from si.com uh what did you learn from your year at Florida obviously it was a big year for you guys what was that experience like man experience was like no other um bunch of winning um just having an unbelievable time every day with the guys uh but like to your to your point like I learned um that team chemistry team chemistry is an important role and uh I’m just looking forward to getting Toronto and meeting all my teammates and bonding hey Elijah Joseph Casharo from the score uh you called yourself an elite role player a couple of moments ago and I was just wondering what about yourself uh or what about your game makes you say that just my ability to play uh on the ball off the ball and just sacrifice my body defensively you know as a defender you got to you got to lay your body on the line and you know and that’s when you that’s where you win games at on the defensive end um and yeah one second later hey Elijah Eric Corine from the Athletic congratulations uh you you spoke a bit about defense the Raptors especially in the second half of the year uh really had success on that end putting a lot of ball pressure uh into effect what What is your philosophy and what do you think is your best attribute on the defensive end honestly um I say my best attribute on a defensive end is just being able to match your body up you know being able to stay stay mentally like uh mentally po you know you’re not going for every fake um and just just laying it all on the line you know as a defender you got to you got to take that step mentally and I feel like I’ve made that step and I’m just growing every day hey Elijah this is uh William Lou from the Hello and Welcome podcast first off congratulations uh going into uh college I think you were a zeroar recruit and you know you went through I think the draft process two years ago uh and obviously came back to college when you reflect on sort of like all the sort of moments that sort of got you to this point how rewarding is it right now that you’re sitting there hearing your name called member of the Toronto Raptors super rewarding man um I mean I’m just thinking about just the all the hard work I had to go through sacrificing for my mother um all the relationships I built throughout these years and in college and high school and with all what it’s led me to um but I’m just I don’t I don’t know if I took you in the moment yet my my mind is just so wired to just what’s next um but I’m I’m gonna try to take in the moment and um just give you a better answer fair enough thank you hey Elijah Josh Luenberg TSN congratulations um I I believe I read that you worked out for the Raptors uh what was the workout like what were your impressions of the city and the organization yeah that workout uh it was ultra competitive uh it was a it was a really good workout um a lot of things uh I I was able to show that day um they they they they loved it um and the city uh my short time there just just seeing how beautiful the city is u how diverse it was as well and um also just knowing that you in the back you you and Drake background um not background but back you
Hey Elijah congratulations and welcome Ryan Wol from the Toronto Sun just curious about a couple of your new teammates uh you you played a pretty uh interesting game this season against Colin Murray Boils i mean what do you think it would be like teaming up with a guy like that and also um I don’t think you played against him but Jamal Shed obviously is the rivalry you guys beat his school um another tough competitor what do you think of having those guys as teammates extremely confident you know those those two guys are two-way guys just like me um they hang their hat on defensive end um I played Carmore boards um this year and you know um he really he really impressed impressed me um it was just he was just hard to deal with we we end up slipping away at the end um and getting the win but um he he made it very hard for us and I’m just excited to be his teammate jamal shed teammate uh Scotty Emanuel UI i can just go on all day i I’m pretty familiar with the roster hey there it’s uh Adam Lasceris from Daily Hive uh there’s only one number retired in in Raptors history and it’s number 15 um I’m wondering if you’ve thought at all about you know kind of the uh irony of that potentially uh what number you’d wear in the NBA and just sort of what that number means to you yeah um 15 has um a lot of meaning to me but I I’m not I’m not trying to take away from Ben’s legacy um obviously he’s a a legend um and I want him to keep his number retired but I I’m also trying to find out what’s what what number that I can you know have some meaning to next and you know be excited to put on my back and just a quick followup uh on a more serious note uh obviously you’ve you’ve been in college for for quite a long time how do you feel like that will help prepare you for just the physicality of the NBA and just from a you know offseason workout standpoint and all the extra hours that you’ve been able to put in to get to this point
yeah um throughout college you just every year you know you gain experience um and I’m just hoping to just lean on that and also you know get through my rookie year with learning things as well and you just put more things under my belt and use using as experience and to my advantage as well so um also with you know just having a sponge mental mentality just trying to soak up everything hey Elijah Esparhini from the NBA Daily uh you played football and were a star football player in high school what allowed you or what made you choose basketball over football just looking at how invested I was in basketball u the sacrifices my mom made um it was all it wasn’t all but it was mainly basketball cuz I was more invested in basketball and um that was just the sport I I I just love the most you know I always had dreams of playing in the NBA uh I was a great football player but I didn’t really have uh dreams of playing NFL

Day 2, another one. Hear from our second draftee Alijah Martin, reppin’ the Raptors in 2025. Full post-draft availability with real-time reactions and big dreams.
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