Stephon Marbury | Syracusefan.com

Stephon Marbury

It's an interesting hypothetical. In 1996, we came 9 points away from beating arguably the best team in NCAA history. Would Marbury have made us better or worse?

For example, Michael Lloyd was a more talented player than Z Sims, but Sims was the perfect leader for that team and clearly what it needed. You could argue Marbury was more like Lloyd and perhaps we wouldn't have been as good with him.

Now Kenny Anderson, that's a whole other story. We would have been light years better with him instead of Michael Edwards.
 
I find that story difficult to believe. Why would JB say that, to one of the highest rated recruits in the nation?

I've read a much different version of how that in-house meeting went with the Marbury family. They straight out asked for cash, and the coaching staff didn't play those games anymore after the first probation, and they ended up leaving.

What was the source of that? Was it a book or article that was published semi-recently?
 
Eric15 said:
It's an interesting hypothetical. In 1996, we came 9 points away from beating arguably the best team in NCAA history. Would Marbury have made us better or worse?

For example, Michael Lloyd was a more talented player than Z Sims, but Sims was the perfect leader for that team and clearly what it needed. You could argue Marbury was more like Lloyd and perhaps we wouldn't have been as good with him.
Expand...

That's a good point. He did avg 18 a game but he also was 4.5 ast to 3.4 turnovers too. From an Ast/To standpoint that doesn't measure up to either Flynn , Sherm or MCW for reference. Picked them given they were elite obvious NBA guys.
 
RF2044 said:
I find that story difficult to believe. Why would JB say that, to one of the highest rated recruits in the nation?

I've read a much different version of how that in-house meeting went with the Marbury family. They straight out asked for cash, and the coaching staff didn't play those games anymore after the first probation, and they ended up leaving.
Expand...

This would make a lot more sense. Especially following how he operated in the limelight after college.
 
RF2044 said:
I find that story difficult to believe. Why would JB say that, to one of the highest rated recruits in the nation?

I've read a much different version of how that in-house meeting went with the Marbury family. They straight out asked for cash, and the coaching staff didn't play those games anymore after the first probation, and they ended up leaving.
Expand...

Yeah Marbury might be leaving context out. I can see JB not handing him the starting PG role, but also saying it's an open competition

Edit: And obviously there is the bag issue...
 
Tons of context left out of that. Can't imagine anyone starting the conversation off like that. Anyway, I met Stephon at a music industry event right after he signed. He was with Shammgod. I asked him, "why didn't you go with Cuse?" He didn't answer, but Shammgod said, "Cuse don't make no pro guards. Look what happened to Pearl."
 
Just saw an old quote from Boeheim where he said -I'll take James Theus with any point guard in College Basketball. This was around 2000 when the Post-Standard put out their whole series about the recent struggles (at that time) in SU recruiting. Boeheim was not pleased.
 
RF2044 said:
I've read a much different version of how that in-house meeting went with the Marbury family. They straight out asked for cash, and the coaching staff didn't play those games anymore after the first probation, and they ended up leaving.
Expand...
The story I remember...can't vouch for the veracity...was that JB and Wayne Morgan were at the Marbury home and while JB was talking with SM, somebody (father or brother) asked Morgan to step into another room with him.

After a few minutes, and angry Wayne Morgan came out of the room, grabbed JB, and said "we are getting out of here."
 
Memories are pretty unreliable and our brains are very good at filling in the blanks with fabrications that complete the story as we want to remember it. Combine that with a big ego and you are bound to get some interesting recollections some 27 years later.
 
bryanradams said:
Tons of context left out of that. Can't imagine anyone starting the conversation off like that. Anyway, I met Stephon at a music industry event right after he signed. He was with Shammgod. I asked him, "why didn't you go with Cuse?" He didn't answer, but Shammgod said, "Cuse don't make no pro guards. Look what happened to Pearl."
Expand...
Says Mr. Shammgod who played one year in the NBA. :)
 
Dick_in_MI said:
The story I remember...can't vouch for the veracity...was that JB and Wayne Morgan were at the Marbury home and while JB was talking with SM, somebody (father or brother) asked Morgan to step into another room with him.

After a few minutes, and angry Wayne Morgan came out of the room, grabbed JB, and said "we are getting out of here."
Expand...

That's basically the story I read.

Wayne Morgan approached about the payment, he gets uncomfortable and then tells JB -- we need to leave, based upon the brother asking for a payment.
 
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Eric15 said:
It's an interesting hypothetical. In 1996, we came 9 points away from beating arguably the best team in NCAA history. Would Marbury have made us better or worse?

For example, Michael Lloyd was a more talented player than Z Sims, but Sims was the perfect leader for that team and clearly what it needed. You could argue Marbury was more like Lloyd and perhaps we wouldn't have been as good with him.

Now Kenny Anderson, that's a whole other story. We would have been light years better with him instead of Michael Edwards.
Expand...
Agreed. Even with Marbury on the team we wouldn’t have been as good as Kentucky - or a number of other teams.

That team greatly overachieved in the tourney and Sims was a big reason why. So missing out on Marbury didn’t hurt the team or program at all.

Now, it would’ve never flown back then….but could you imagine Marbury as the two guard on that team? Playing like a Dion Waiters, Devendorf type game….get buckets and be a secondary ball handler? A Sims and Marbury backcourt could’ve killed - as long as Sims was the clear QB. (Think like an Eric Snow - Allen Iverson type of backcourt with the Sixers in the early 00’s)

But again - wouldn’t have ever happened.
 
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Regarding SU and Marbury recruiting. I have searched for info on one of Steph's older brothers that I believe we recruited. Not sure but I think it may have been Eric. I may be way off base here, he may have played at the Empire State games one year that Dorsey Levins played. Also remember he was a lefty. Anyone remember which brother?
 
Eric15 said:
It's an interesting hypothetical. In 1996, we came 9 points away from beating arguably the best team in NCAA history. Would Marbury have made us better or worse?

For example, Michael Lloyd was a more talented player than Z Sims, but Sims was the perfect leader for that team and clearly what it needed. You could argue Marbury was more like Lloyd and perhaps we wouldn't have been as good with him.

Now Kenny Anderson, that's a whole other story. We would have been light years better with him instead of Michael Edwards.
Expand...
Tough to compare Lloyd to Marbury. They may have been the same type of player in many ways, but Marbury was a really good NBA player. Lloyd was far from that.
 
Dick_in_MI said:
The story I remember...can't vouch for the veracity...was that JB and Wayne Morgan were at the Marbury home and while JB was talking with SM, somebody (father or brother) asked Morgan to step into another room with him.

After a few minutes, and angry Wayne Morgan came out of the room, grabbed JB, and said "we are getting out of here."
Expand...

That's how I remember that story, too. The head coach still has plausible deniability that way, if he wasn't in the room.
 
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