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BYU junior goes three-and-out the hard way

NCAA Basketball Tournament -  Marquette v BYU

LOUISVILLE, KY - MARCH 15: The mascot for the Brigham Young Cougars performs during the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at KFC YUM! Center on March 15, 2012 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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Most NCAA athletes end up going pro in something else. BYU junior Nick Martineau will be looking to do that after just three years in Provo.

Not that it was his idea. Not at all, according to the Salt Lake Tribune:

BYU announced via a school news release Friday night that Martineau would not return to the team in 2012-13, but did not make it clear that it was not his decision, an omission that disappointed the former Davis High two-sport star. “My plans were to pursue a master’s degree here at BYU [next fall] and play my senior year,” Martineau said. “I was not given that opportunity. I did not quit.”

Remarkably, Martineau will receive his degree this month in business/finance, although he has only been at BYU for three years. He was a walk-on freshman in 2007-08, playing just 115 minutes in 20 appearances, then went on an LDS Church mission to Chile. After his mission, he was awarded a scholarship for his sophomore and junior seasons, but as he found out last month, scholarships are renewed each year at the coach’s discretion.

Martineau says that Rose told him part of the reason his scholarship won’t be renewed is because he was able to finish his degree and will be graduating this month.


Man, that has got to smart. Bust your hump as a walk-on, do your duty as a member of the church, earn a scholarship against all odds, then have your coach tell you that you’re getting booted, and it’s sort of your own fault for working so damn hard and getting your degree early.

Let that be a lesson to you, kids. Come to practice ready to play, work hard in school, and you, too can lose your scholarship.