Stephon Marbury Essay Research Paper Stephon Marbury

Stephon Marbury Essay, Research Paper

Stephon Marbury is a basketball phenomenon. Mr. Marbury has been known by the basketball world at the young age of eleven. Many pressures and confrontations have encountered Mr. Marbury throught his entire basketball career. These began when he was a young child and they still accompany him.

Many people from Brooklyn, New York, the city in which Stephon Marbury was born and raised, have known about his basketball skills for an extremely long time because “…he was dribbling on a court not long after he was dribbling on his bib”(Ryan, 56). Mr. Marbury described himself as mouthy and inconsiderate. He loved to “talk trash” to opposing team’s players and even their coaches.

In 1988 Hoop Scoop, a recruiting newsletter, anointed him the bext sixth-grader in the nation…Up to that point, Marbury says, “I wasn’t a very nice kid. I thought I was it. It was y’all supposed to talk to me, I’m not supposed to talk to y’all. i’d just come out on the court, just talk junk, with this walk and this look.” In CYO ball he woofed at opposing coaches: I’m just killing your guards. Get someone out here who can stop me(Wolff, 62).

By the time that Mr. Marbury was a Sophomore in high school at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, he had changed his act. He learned to treat everybody with respect and to be a professional person. He had also tattooed a panther onto his right arm. He said:

“A panther is quick and smart and always alert to everything. He’s sitting on top of a mountain…That’s where I want to see myself” (Wolff, 62).

Mr. Marbury had great pressures exerted on him to put up big numbers. He was frustrated that very few people could comprehend how much pressure was exerted on him to do this. Mr. Marbury even had international recognition by making the covers of magazines in France and Germany. A news show on the American Broadcasting Company, “Nightline”, profiled him. Mr. Marbury says:

It’s real hard for people to understand if they don’t come from New York, I was scrutinized for every little thing. In high school, I was like what Michael Jordan is to the NBA. I had to be on top of my game every day. Everybody was gunning for me(Ryan, 54).

Mr. Marbury met another high school basketball phenomenon from South Carolina, Kevin Garnett. They both currently play on the Minnesota Timberwolves. They both knew of each other and had always wanted to meet. One evening, Mr. Marbury got Mr. Garnett’s phone number and gave him a phone call. They talked together for several hours about basketball, women, and other interests that teenagers share. Eventually, their phone bills became the price of a nice pair of basketball shoes, or about one hundred dollars.

Choosing a university was quite a challenge for Mr. Marbury. He practiced with many different universities before making his choice; and many of them, he did not like.

…Stephon Marbury spent two weeks in Minneapolis training under University of Minnesota coach Clem Haskins before the 1994 World Games in Buenos Aires. I hate the place…And that was in the summer! It was culture shock. By the time we were done, I couldn’t wait to go to Argentina, and who ever thought I’d say that(MacMullan, 1).

Ironically, after he decided to leave college, he would play professionally at Minnesota. After dealing with numerous universities, he chose to attend college at Georiga Tech University.

Stephon Marbury was not the only person in his immediate family to play college basketball. His oldest brother, Eric “Sky Dog” Marbury played at Georgia between 1979 to 1982 and was cut by the then San Diego Clippers in 1982. His second oldest brother, Donnie “Sky Pup” Marbury was undrafted, although he led the southwest confernce in scoring as a senior at Texas A&M in 1985 to 1986. His third oldest brother, Norman “Jou-Jou” Marbury was described as, “‘the purest point guard you’d ever want to see’”(Wolff, 62), but he failed to make the requirement to play college basketball on the Scholastic Avchievement Test and therfore, had to settle for junior college. Norman Marbury played only one year of Division I college basketball his senior year at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. Stephon, the fourth of five brothers, has a little brother, Moses Marbury, who currently plays basketball at Lincoln High. He is currently a Junior guard, but is not the phenom that Stephon is.

Stephon Marbury had many oppositions in college that proved to him that he was still inexperienced. Chris McGuthrie, a 5′9″ senior guard from Mount St. Mary’s University, scored 37 points on him and led St. Mary’s to a victory. After that loss he asked the manager for a copy of the game. He watched it into the middle of the night and realized that he needed help. His brother, Donnie, told him that he “Got to play like Stephon. Got to go through the middle, got to get through the middle, got to get to the basket”(Wolff, 62).

Stephon Marbury was constantly pressured by his coach, Bobby Cremins, to put up big numbers and to make big plays. Mr. Marbury was known as the “go to” guy on the team. The coach expected him to be on top of everything all of the time. There was also a great amount of pressure exerted on him from the fans and the media. Also, he knew that if he failed to make it to the National Basketball Association, he would be ridiculed in