Early life
Roman Eduardo Martinez was born on March 5, 1988 to Eduardo Martinez and Pam Terrazas. He grew up playing basketball under the tutelage of his father and became a dominant force on the El Paso High School basketball landscape for Montwood High School.
Montwood High School
Roman was a leader both academically and athletically in his four years at Montwood High School in El Paso. He jelled seamlessly into Tony Harper’s defensive minded scheme and flourished winning the city Most Valuable Player in multiple years. Roman signed his letter of intent with the University of New Mexico Lobos on November 9th, 2005.
Ro-mania!
University of New Mexico
Roman had an eventful four years as a Lobo under two head coaches, Ritchie Mckay and Steve Alford. It was under Alford where Roman and the Lobos did great things and competed in the years 2007-2010 at a very high level
2007-08
UNM lost in the Mountain West Tournament to Utah 82-80. They were selected to the NIT Tournament and lost another heartbreaker to the University of Cal 68-66
2008-09
UNM lost in the Mountain West Tournament to Wyoming 75-67. They were selected to the NIT Tournament again, winning their first game against Nebraska 83-71 and lost another heartbreaker to Notre Dame 70-68.
2009-10
UNM won against Air Force in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament and then lost to San Diego State and Kawhi Leonard. They were selected as a number 3 seed of the NCAA tournament, played and vanquished Montana, 62-57. They then played Washington University in the second round. Washington high paced, fast breaking scheme was too much for the Lobos and they were defeated 82-64.
While the defeat at the hands of Washington was Roman’s last game in the Cherry and Silver Lobo uniform, he left an indelible mark on the University and the city of Albuquerque. He is beloved by the city and its people to this day.
University of Nevada Graduate assistant
In 2019, Roman joined up with Steve Alford again, but this time in the coaching capacity. He is the current lead graduate assistant for the Nevada Wolfpack