Rhys Martin might look like a composed veteran on the basketball court, but a strong case could be made for him wearing L-plates.

It’s not that he is unreliable or needs extra supervision, he simply soaks up all he can from experienced people around him, such as former Bullets team-mate CJ Bruton.

“He’s just such a great leader on the court as a floor general and a point guard, he gives guys belief,” Martin said. “That’s something I watched and learned when I was in Brisbane.”

Bruton had an even bigger impact on Martin’s career once they went their separate ways.

“He’s how I got the job at Wollongong. He’s friends with (then-Hawks coach) Eric Cooks, so when Brisbane went under he gave Cookie a call for me.”

The Hawks are glad CJ picked up the phone as the 25-year-old Martin is leading the NBL this season with eight assists a game.

His development, however, began a long time ago.

“I started playing when I was nine in Redlands on the south side of Brisbane where I grew up. My first game was for a friend’s team because they needed someone extra.”

A tough competitor whose preferred sport was squash, Martin immediately took to the team aspect of hoops and found plenty of expert help along the way.

“Liam Flynn, (now) the assistant coach at Townsville, was my head coach in under 12s. Then I won my first state title in under 16s with Mick Downer, assistant coach of the Cairns Taipans,” Martin revealed with a laugh.

“And I had (former Bullets coach) Bruce Palmer as well in under 20s. He is a funny guy, a character!”

A constant during that time was also Geoff Henderson, helping Rhys into John Paul College in Brisbane and guiding him to split Year 12 over two years so he could focus on both education and basketball.

The combination of excellent mentors and Martin’s hard work held him in good stead, and made sure he was ready to move into the starting five when import Ty McKee was injured in 2009/10.

“Playing behind Ty, we would just beat up on each other all day at practice! Then to just be thrust the ball and told ‘here’s your team, just go and play’, that was a great experience,” Martin said, reflecting on the Hawks fairytale run to the NBL Grand Final.

Wollongong ultimately fell 2-1 to Perth in the championship decider, but coach Rob Beveridge was impressed with Martin’s efforts and doesn’t think he got the credit he deserved.

“He’s a very good passer,” Beveridge said. “He reads the game very well and sometimes he might be one step ahead of his teammates.

“He’s really starting to establish himself. I think he has been a bit ratty at times (in the past) but a big responsibility has been put on his shoulders and I think he has grown.

“He’s no longer making those dumb-ass errors.”

Martin received a call-up to the Boomers squad this year and, according to assistant coach Marty Clarke, more than held his own.

“I was really impressed with Rhys at Boomers camp, his preparedness to work, to ask questions and improve himself,” Clarke said.

“When people talk about future Boomer point guards I wouldn’t rule out Rhys Martin pushing some of those other guys all the way to the line. He plays with great composure, like an experienced veteran even though he isn’t one.”

Martin knows he has work to do before he can make Australia’s best 12, but under internationally experienced Hawks coach Gordie McLeod he is in a great environment to reach that level.

“I’ve got a pretty harsh critic as a head coach, and when you sit down and analyse the game and break it down on the video you can see there’s a lot of mistakes, a lot of areas where I can get better,” Martin admitted.

“He was one of the best point guards for Australia, so I never get a day off as a point guard!”