Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Marbury versus Telfair

A look at the draft progress of Sebastian Telfair right out of high school, versus what cousin Stephon went through - story here.

"I still remember how crazy it was around here when Stephon was going pro," said Dwayne Morton, referring to the Knicks' Stephon Marbury, who starred at the Coney Island school before spending one year at Georgia Tech. "We didn't know exactly where he was going, but we knew it would be high. This time, the draft is so wide-open, nobody knows where anyone is going."

Plus, Marbury wasn't looking to leap into the pros, as his cousin is. He honed his game during his freshman year with the Yellow Jackets, becoming the ACC Rookie of the Year.

There was little, if any, question that the 6-2 Marbury would be a lottery pick in 1996. He wound up being drafted fourth overall by the Bucks and was almost immediately traded to Minnesota for Ray Allen, spending over two seasons with the Timberwolves.

"Teams wanted him so badly," Morton said. "He had played so well at Georgia Tech that there was no way he was slipping."