“STARBURY” and “CHEAP SHOTS AND SLAP SHOTS”

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924. LINCOLN RAILSPLITTERS VS ROBESON EAGLES

PUBLIC SCHOOL ATHLETIC LEAGUE 

A CLASS FINALS

MARCH 18, 1995

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

QUALITY OF PLAY—6.66

DRAMA—6.56

STAR POWER—7.75

CONTEMPORARY IMPORT—5.95

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE—6.94

LOCAL IMPACT—7.65

TOTAL: 42.51

Stephon Marbury lay sprawled on the Madison Square Garden floor, weeping. His high school team, the Lincoln Railsplitters of Coney Island, had just been beaten in the NYC Public School Athletic League (PSAL) Finals by Martin Luther King High of Manhattan. Marbury, then a junior prep sensation, considered by some the best point guard in NYC history, had been awful, shooting 5-24 and committing several turnovers. It was his second straight loss in the finals; he had to wonder if there would be a third chance.

Fortunately for Steph, he had another season with Lincoln, and that chance at redemption came at the Garden on Saturday night, March 18, 1995, when Lincoln played in the PSAL A final once more, this time against Robeson High of Crown Heights in an all-Brooklyn matchup. 

Basketball was the Marbury family trade, the clan a name brand in Coney Island as potent as Nathan’s and the Cyclone. His three older brothers—Eric, Don and Norman—all starred at Lincoln, and went on to full rides in college. But none had won a PSAL title at Lincoln, and none were as gifted as brother number four (a fifth brother, little Moses Marbury, also had a great HS career and played college ball, at Rhode Island). Only Steph would play in the NBA, but for the Marburys, winning that elusive PSAL title was almost as important.

It wouldn’t be easy, despite Steph’s electrifying presence. Robeson had won the Class B title the previous season, and upon stepping up to A ball hadn’t missed a beat. They were much bigger than Lincoln, with a front court that averaged 6’8” across the backline. Lincoln’s tallest player was their hardworking center Jamel Thomas, just 6’6”. 

But Thomas turned out to be every bit as important as “Starbury” to Lincoln’s cause. With a crowd of 8,862, including Bobby Cremins, Marbury’s soon-to-be college coach at Georgia Tech, looking on, Thomas dominated the backboards through intensity and positioning, grabbing 17 rebounds, more than anyone else in the contest. 

“Jamel has played like this throughout the playoffs,” said Lincoln Coach Bobby Hartstein. On several occasions, Thomas threw pinpoint long outlet passes to Marbury and Gerald Hawkins, who scored 21 in the game. Robeson shot poorly, and were plagued by a quick whistle that favored Lincoln. Marbury alone shot 13 free throws, hitting on 10, en route to a game-high 26 points. 

Nonetheless, it was no rout. Robeson gave the Railsplitters fits with their tight defense. Robeson blocked ten shots in the game, including four apiece for frontcourt stars Shamel Jones (who added 17 points) and Jameel Watkins, to offset Marbury’s dizzying slashes to the rim and silky shooting touch. Indeed, the Eagles held a 40-37 deep into the fourth quarter. 

Than Marbury took over. He hit a three-pointer to tie it up, and hit several shots or free throws and created buckets for his teammates down the stretch. With 11 seconds left, and Lincoln clinging to a one-point lead, Steph was fouled as he drove the lane. He made both free throws, making it 59-56, Splitters. Todd Myles of Robeson missed a potential tying three, and at last, Marbury had his PSAL title. 

"I've got everything now!” screamed Marbury as he ran around the court at the buzzer. "I've got everything now!!!”

AFTERMATH

Marbury went on to star in his one season at Georgia Tech, albeit in not quite so spectacular a fashion as did Kenny Anderson, who was the previous NYC great to land in Atlanta for college ball. Steph went to the NBA after his freshman year, and wound up in Minnesota. He demanded and received a trade back to the Metro Area in 1999, where he starred for the Nets for a couple of seasons, and later spent five controversial, litigious, exhausting years with the Knicks. Ironically enough, Marbury at last found basketball peace about as far from Coney Island as one can get, in the Chinese Basketball Association. There he was a superstar, a three-time champion and MVP (there is a statue of him outside the Beijing Ducks arena). Steph now coaches a different CBA team, the Beijing Royal Fighters. 

The Marbury family kept delivering for Lincoln High. Steph’s cousin and protege, Sebastian Telfair, aka “Bassy,” led Lincoln to three straight PSAL titles. 

WHAT THEY SAID

"It took three years. We always came up short. This year we came up big.”

—Stephon Marbury

FURTHER READING:

The Last Shot by Darcy Frey

VIDEO:

923. NEW YORK ISLANDERS VS NEW YORK RANGERS

STANLEY CUP QUARTERFINALS

GAME THREE

APRIL 9, 1990

NASSAU COLISEUM

QUALITY OF PLAY—7.44

DRAMA—7.49

STAR POWER—5.33

CONTEMPORARY IMPORT—7.05

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE—7.27

LOCAL IMPACT—7.94

TOTAL: 42.52

“CHEAP SHOTS AND SLAP SHOTS”

The 1990 Islanders made a somewhat miraculous run to the postseason. The team was dead and buried at 5-18-3 when they traded for a couple of depth pieces, tiny (5’9”) Hubie McDonough and mountainous Ken Baumgartner, a goon who bore an uncanny resemblance (from the neck up) to soon-to-be rock/grunge superstar Kurt Cobain. With Hubie whizzing around the ice, and the “Bomber” coldcocking anyone foolish enough to tangle with him, the Isles went on a stunning two month run that culminated in a last-day squeeze into the playoffs. 

Their reward was a renewal of the “Expressway Series,” a first-round encounter with the hated Rangers, winners of the Patrick Division. It had been six long years since the last playoff meeting between the two hated rivals. They had not met since the fabled 1984 series the Islanders won in five thrilling games. Don Maloney, longtime Ranger and now a fifth columnist with the Islanders, was asked if it would take the fans of the teams any time to get back into the old swing of things.

“Yeah, about six minutes,” Maloney replied. 

The first two games at the Garden were all Rangers, and worse, Isles star Pat Lafontaine took a hit and was knocked unconscious in a scary fall when his head slammed into the ice. “His eyeballs were nowhere to be found,” reported Maloney. The Garden crowd cheered as their enemy lay insensate on the ice. The Isles responded by sending out their tough guys, led by Baumgartner and the even goonier Mick Vukota, and a giant brawl ensued. The Rangers didn’t fight back, and later Vukota received a 10-game suspension and the Islanders were cast as villains. 

Also, they lost the game. They lost Game Two as well, meaning any chance at a meaningful series depended on Game Three, held at Nassau Coliseum on April 9, 1990, a cool and gusty Monday. The weather may have helped defuse a simmering parking lot battle between the fans, as had happened back in March, when the two teams met on St. Patrick’s Day (there were fights all over the Coliseum interior as well—after that game league schedulers avoided pitting the two blood rivals on a holiday known for drunken mayhem for some time thereafter). 

On the ice, however, there was plenty of action in Game Three. Brent Sutter scored first for the home team, but the Rangers quelled the celebratory feel in the air with three unanswered goals. Goalie John Vanbiesbrouck looked unbeatable, and time started to squeeze the Isles. 

Enter the refs, who called an iffy slashing penalty on Kelly Kisio of the Rangers. Pat Flatley scored on the ensuing power play, and with half the third period left, the Islanders were within a goal. Not 90 seconds later, the diminutive McDonough lifted a rebound over Beezer, and the Coliseum exploded. Tie game, and it went to overtime 3-3. 

No one scored in the first OT session, but the Isles still suffered a loss. Their best defensemen, Jeff Norton, was blasted from behind and went down hard in an eerily similar replay to the LaFontaine injury. “His face was swollen badly enough it was distorted,” said the Islanders trainer. 

This time, instead of seeking revenge with a line brawl, the Isles did it better—by scoring on the five-minute power play that opened the second overtime, a result of the illegal hit on Norton. Sutter was the hero, tapping home a sizzling cross-crease pass from Jeff Finley to win it 59 seconds into the period. 

The Isles were back in the series. The never-say-die attitude that got them to the playoffs in the first place was poised to make this a long series. 

AFTERMATH

Sadly for Isles fans, Game Three was their apogee. The Rangers powered in six goals in each of the next two games to take the series in five. The good news was that LaFontaine and Norton returned in time to connect on a goal in Game Five. The Rangers would in turn lose in five in the next round, to the Washington Capitols, thanks to the heroics of journeyman John Druce (see #955 on the list), who became a temporary, honorary Islander for the duration of that series.

As for the Islanders, in the long term they deeply regretted the skin-of-their-teeth playoff berth. It cost them a draft slot that summer that went to Pittsburgh instead. The Pens used the choice on Jaromir Jagr, who would score 766 NHL goals.

WHAT THEY SAID

“They are always painted in lily-white, and we’re the guys in the black hats.”

—Islanders coach Al Arbour on the media portrayals of the two New York hockey teams

FURTHER READING:

Rangers vs Islanders by Stan Fischer and Zachary Weinstock

VIDEO: