Marbury makes shoes, conversation

By Anthony Bonagura
Collegian Staff
October 4, 2006

It’s not common to find a basketball shoe priced under $100 these days, unless it’s a “no-name” brand that isn’t endorsed by an athletic superstar.

The Explorers battling in a game from last season.

However, one NBA player in particular has stepped down from the conglomerate hierarchy of “over-priced” sneakers and decided to be loyal to those less fortunate.

His name is Stephon Marbury, and no, he is not your typical third-string point guard who couldn’t find a deal with any other company. In fact, when Marbury entered the NBA in 1996, he signed with the shoe company AND1 and has been gracing the hardwood with its sneakers ever since – until now.

Marbury has teamed up with Steve & Barry’s to create a sneaker that can accommodate those that don’t have the money to buy expensive shoes. “The Starbury One” sells for $14.98, along with his jersey, produced by the same company, which goes for $9.98.

The sneaker will relate to the younger generation because Marbury is a flashy player, with career averages of 20.2 ppg and 8.1 apg, and in addition, he plays in the biggest market in the nation, New York. Along with that, he is only 6 feet, 2 inches, so kids who are small (for their age) can connect with him.

Marbury and Steve & Barry’s went on a one month tour in September called ‘The Starbury Movement Tour” to promote the shoe and clothing line. When they made their way to the Franklin Mills Mall in Philadelphia, I decided to take a trip out there and ask Starbury, himself, about the revolution.

Collegian: Can you comment on the significance of selling a basketball shoe at a reasonable price?

Stephon Marbury: It’s significant because you allow people the opportunity to buy a shoe at a reasonable price that they can afford. Now people don’t feel obligated to walk into a store and buy a shoe at $100-$200 in order to buy something nice. We built a shoe that’s just like a $200 shoe, but it’s affordable for everyone.

C: What is the importance of loyalty to you?

SM: Loyalty to me is everything. I grew up in a big family, and we were always told to stick by each other and treat your family the way family is supposed to be treated. Growing up, I always had a vision of being a person who would try and help others all the time.

C: What is your shoe going to bring to the hardwood that no other shoe is going to bring?

SM: I can say one thing: I’m going to be playing in them. It’s a shoe that is affordable; a lot of people misconstrue the words, but in actuality, it’s affordable. It’s a sleek, smooth shoe that’s built for speed.

C: How have you developed as a person, as well as a player, since your days at Georgia Tech?

SM: I grew, man, that’s a great question. I grew as an individual, as a human being. I have an acceptance in my life—being able to understand who I am as a man and also having the ability to grow. When you’re young in the NBA, you tend to get lost at times, but I never lost focus of who I was as a person, so that always kept me grounded.

C: A lot of people associate Dominique Wilkins and Darryl Dawkins as power dunkers and Reggie Miller as a clutch 3-point shooter. In 20 years, when someone says “Stephon Marbury,” what do you want them to think or say?

SM: I want them to say that every night, he was a dude that you had to strap up against because he was going to bring it.

Marbury has never been the type of person to conform to procedures and habits that people “want.” At some point in his life, he was probably asked, “Are you a follower or a leader?”

Marbury is a leader.

bonaguraa1@lasalle.edu