July 15, 2024 • 33 mins
In this episode, we explore the rise of Lincoln High School as a basketball powerhouse, starting with Stephon Marbury and continuing through Sebastian Telfair and Lance Stephenson. Featuring interviews with coaches, players, and basketball historians, this episode highlights the unique culture of Lincoln basketball and the legendary figures who made it famous.
Breakdown:
- 02:01 - 06:00: Mike Boynton on the influence of Stephon Marbury
- 06:01 - 12:00: The early years of Lincoln High School's basketball dominance
- 12:01 - 18:00: Kenny Pretlow on the media frenzy during Sebastian Telfair's senior season
- 18:01 - 26:00: The rise of Lance Stephenson and his impact on Lincoln's dynasty
- 26:01 - 30:00: The legacy of Tiny Morton and his coaching philosophy
- 30:01 - 34:00: Isaiah Whitehead's journey and contributions to Lincoln basketball
- 34:01 - 38:00: The continued legacy of Lincoln High School and its impact on Brooklyn basketball
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
I'm obsessed with the game any chance I can watch it,
talk about it, read about it, learn more about it.
And I didn't get the chance to see Kenny Anderson play,
he was too much older than I was watch him
play in high school. But I saw Steph and I
don't think I ever felt like I watched somebody that
I thought was better than Steph. All about hurry at
playing basketball. He's the best basketball player I ever got
(00:26):
to watch play. Just his aura, his presence, because you
felt like it was bigger than Brooklyn with Steph, you
know what I mean, if that makes any sense, Like
you felt like he was a cultural figure. You felt
like he was a national presence, and he was from Brooklyn,
which made it even cooler. Like watching him athletically, skill wise,
(00:47):
and knowing the background of his older brothers in that path,
you'll only added to you.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Know, what his legacy became.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
And so you know, he was definitely the guy in
terms of who I looked up to as the gold standard.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
It was Dephitely, Stephford.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
That's Mike Boynton, former head coach at Oklahoma State. He
graduated Bishop b Lockland in two thousand, making him part
of the first class of Brooklyn bawlers who grew up
watching Steph on Marlbury at Lincoln High School. Guys like
that were in between the days when Steph put Lincoln
on the map and Sebastian Telfia made it a dynasty.
(01:23):
One of the first stories we told you about here
on Brooklyn's Borough was the Legend of Boys High. Forty
years later, the kids from Coney Island redefined what it
means to be a high school dynasty in New York City.
I'll meet you Darko from the Flatber Zombies, and that's
what we're talking about this week on Basketball's Borough. For decades,
(01:57):
the high schools in Brooklyn and the rest of the
city with the source New York City's leagues had the
deepest pool of talent in the country, and YC had
powerhouse teams and hugely hype high school ballers. From Kareem
out through Jabal back when he was known as lew
House Center to Kenny Anderson. What happened that Lincoln High School,
(02:18):
starting with Stephan Marlberry was different from all of that.
They wrote books about these teams, they made movies about
these kids, they put them on national television.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
It's Hollywood Hollywood, Hollywood. We got a park, we got
through the fire. Then we had there was another documentary
being done that that tiny We were micd for Channel
twenty five or something that came on every week. You
had the fans and you had the Coney Allen people
following them. It was like being in Hollywood rock Star.
(02:52):
We went to California. We played Dwight Howard and we
beat Dwight Howard by one point. It was just like
it was high.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Tree.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
You like rock stars, Tree, you like rock stars. Played
in front of Derek Jeter, who was my idol. I'm
a big Yankee fan, and I had Derrik. Yeah. I
said time, y'all can't coach der I wasn't going with
a get on the back Jz's in our locker room.
We were rock stars, Holliwood rock stars.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
That's assistant coach Kenny Pretlo talking about the year it
all really blew up. Sebastian Telfair senior season, Lincoln was
chasing his third straight city title. Bassie was thinking about
going pro straight out of high school. Everybody wanted a
piece of the show. Sports columnist Ian O'Connor spent the
year trailing Telfair for a book he called The Jump,
(03:45):
and director Jonathan Hock did the same for his documentary
Through the Fire. In March two thousand and four, Sports
Illustrated put eighteen year old Sebastian Telfair on his cover.
Here is Lincoln High School head coach Tiny Morton.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
It was the pole that be that that allowed it.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
You know, you have parents that that one of them,
if you had ministrats that allowed it, and I just
try to make sure that you know, at the beginning
of the year after maybe Steve camp he really thought
when Lebron went to the NBA out of high school,
he really thought that he could make it.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
So my focus is on that.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
It wasn't New York, wasn't on the book, Crusade or
the movie was more or less out to make sure
to help his kiky to the NBA out of high school.
It was chaotic for me, to be honest, because it
was nothing I was used to. I wasn't being had
anybody listen to me to tell me, is this the
right thing?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Is the wrong thing?
Speaker 5 (04:32):
It wasn't my career, So I didn't want to stop
a young man from not being able to have a
movie in the book, So it was only job training.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Still, the medium machine was never with Tiny was expecting
back in nineteen ninety four when he was asked to
be assistant to Lincoln head coach Bobby Harstein, going into
Stephan Marlberby senior year. There was a history at Lincoln
for both Tonnie Morton and the Marl beerverys. Stephahn's brother
Eric had gone on to play four years at Georgia.
In the early eighties, Don Marlberry played travel ball for
(05:03):
the Gauchos with Pearl Washington and John Sally, and went
to Texas A and M. Norman Maulberry. They call him Juju,
played a year at Saint Francis, and Brooklyn Morton had
played at Lincoln for Hartstein, including the season with Norman Marlberry.
He was sophomore on Lincoln's nineteen eighty six PSAL championship team.
(05:24):
In nineteen ninety one, Lincoln won the city again and
a young rider named Darcy Frey spent the summer and
half the following season on Coney Island for a book
called The Last Shot. He spent most of his time
with three returning seniors to Chaka's ship, Corey Johnson and
Darryl flicking, but they were also joined that season by
(05:46):
freshman guard whose rep was a ready bursting around Coney
Island and beyond, Stephan Maulberry.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I started playing from when I was like two years old.
I've lily all my brothers played, so you know, they
literally put the ballers out on my crib from when
I was a baby, and you know, ever since I
could remember, I've been playing basketball or had something to
do with basketball up until right now at forty five
years old. So pretty much all my life it's been
(06:16):
nothing but basketball. I was the kid that used to
be on a microphone from little age, probably like six
to like ten. I used to be the kid that
WO havetime go shoot on the court. So everyone had
an idea about who I was because of my brothers,
But when I got on the court and I played,
(06:38):
they knew me from my style of play, which my
style was different from everyone else's because you know, I
was the kind of guy that could dribble, I could shoot,
I could pass, which a lot of young kids weren't
able to do. I was able to shoot jump shots
from three point line. You know, when I was nineteen
years old, I was shooting jump shot because of how
(06:59):
I was already being trained. So you know, I was
the kid that used to basically be on a mic
and when the team's lost, IU be the kids singing
bye bye bird see you that year, like when they
used to play the games, So like a little mascot
for the neighborhood teams. And you know when people used
(07:20):
to hear me and talk, they'd be like, who is
this kid talking? And then I get on the court
and then I started playing and was like, oh, that's
everybody's brother. I was known on the court head off
the word.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Here's Tony Morton.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
Steph used to be around mostly in the summertime when
I was playing with normal.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
I wasn't playing with.
Speaker 5 (07:38):
Tony, but he used to come to the games when
drumbs on the team where he was definitely one of
those young guys that was always around on Lincoln around
call me.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Out playing basketball.
Speaker 5 (07:47):
The way he carried itself was special. He carried itself
like a professional at a young age. He had a
goal early and like his goals were set. You know
exactly where he wanted to go and what he wanted
to do. It wasn't nobody stif and he showed that
on record as well.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Charles Jones is two years older than Maulbery and started
at Brooklyn's Bishop Ford. After playing two years at Rutgers,
he transferred back to Brooklyn and let the nation and
score in two straight years.
Speaker 6 (08:14):
To ally you, you know, Steph was really good since
he twelve thirteen, even when he had the little jersey,
the jersey was too big for him and he had
the rocket with the loops over and he was.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Calling him X. That was I mean, this is what I'm.
Speaker 6 (08:29):
Saying that when you see people that you know just
become stars and you and you're going through it at
the same point in time, man like that was shot minutes.
Because you watched the cole You've seen this process. You
see the goal from there, a team well pre team
twent teenage a Lincoln running through the public league.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Aside from Lincoln High School itself, the center of Coney
Island's basketball culture was right outside Marlbury's door in the
Surfside Garden's Projects, a carefully maintained basketball oasis they called
the Garden.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
That's where I honed in all my skills, and I
think that that place was always special because so many
people came took on the Island to play. It was
known for its rigorous, tough style of play, getting thrown
into the gate, no fouls, really physical. So you know
a lot of people came to that court to basically play.
(09:26):
And you know when you won over the people who
watched you play at that court, wherever you were from,
whether it was from Harlem, Queen's, the Bronx, when you came,
they showed respect to those players. People would know them
from their hoop game. So the Garden is a specially place,
not only for the court, but it's just it's a
place where you can get your reputation from as a hooper.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
When the stars in the nineteen ninety one championship team graduated,
it was Marlbury's turn going into the sophomore year. In
nineteen ninety two, Ray Haskins w the city championship coaching
at Alexander Hamilton High School, coaching against Lincoln teams that
had Stephan Maulberry as a ball boy. While his older
brother played. Haskins coach Brooklyn's lu to the NCAA tournament.
(10:15):
It's some more year.
Speaker 7 (10:16):
He just blew up, just I mean just blew up.
You could see at talent, but he i mean, he
was just amazing, tremendous, tremendous Stephon mean, at a young
age he could shoot one of the things that I mean,
guys have to learn how to handle, how to pass,
do this or that well, shooting naser quality if you
(10:36):
could shoot you halfway there.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
None of Stephan's brothers have won a city championship at Lincoln.
Norman lost the PSAL title game his sophomore and junior years,
and Stepan did the same. His senior year was a
coroed nation with Georgia Tech coach Bobby Kremen's watching. At MSG,
Stephon scored twenty six points to lead Lincoln over another
(10:59):
Brooklyn school, Robson, for the PSAL championship. At the state championships,
Lincoln b Ronald Tesla Sole team and Lamar odoms Christ
the King team for the title. Stefan was the MVP
King of New York. Fort Green's Omar Cook was part
of the next class of Brooklyn playmakers, going on to
(11:21):
Saint Johnson two thousand and then a twenty year pro career.
Speaker 8 (11:25):
It was the guy that was the guy like you know,
growing up, you know watching him and at that time
you had, you know, like Marlberry, shamguard. You had Karee Reed,
so it was New York basketball. It was really big
at the time with point guard. You know, you had
Ray for Austin. So there's a lot of guys. But
he was to die, you know, like he was really
could shoot the ball. Was Duncan had, you know, swagger
(11:48):
cameras following him before. It was like social media at
the time, so it was easy for me to you know,
have access to him because it was a lot of
things surrounding him, so it was easy for me to
kind of like go to or you know, see things
like that, so I was able to see it firsthand.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
Here's Kenny prent Low Again, everybody know who Steph was.
I mean, he was the best player in New York
City probably all four years he was in high school.
He was ridiculous. It wasn't only Brooklyn. He was known
all throughout the country. He was ranked the number one
sixth grader back in those days. Everybody knewho step was.
You know, he had a following.
Speaker 6 (12:26):
You know, he was cool.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
He looked the part and he played the part. What
a lot of people really didn't understand about him. As
talented as he was he was tough as nails, toughest nails.
I never seen anybody get the best of Steph on
it high school. I mean, he was just ridiculous. He
was a name among them, like, you know, you had
(12:48):
Pearl and you had Mark Jackson, you had Kenny the
jet Smith, Kenny Anderson. But Steph he was just you know,
he had this the high arc and jumper, you know,
the move was the passes, and he was just it.
Step from Marlbury in high school, he was it.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
If there's any doubt about how big a legacy stuff
on Marlberry built. In the nineties, three years after he
graduated from Lincoln, Spike Lee's He Got Game featured a
basketball superstar from Coney Island and Lincoln High School was
being chased by relentless college recruiters.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Spankly asked me the auditions for the part. Now. I
told them, I'm not going to audition to play me.
At the time, I understood what he was saying as
far as you know, this is different. You know you're
going to be acting, so you need the audition so
you know they can see. But at that time I
really can't see that. The movie was definitely based up
it was based on my story. It wasn't based on
anyone else. I mean, that was pretty evident. It was
(13:47):
a really well done movie and it shows homage to
you know, what was done at Lincoln.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Here's Tony Morton.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
I was close to the project. I had a cameo,
but you Pby wouldn't say it.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
But it was good.
Speaker 5 (14:02):
It was great time for Spike Lee also, he did
He did that movie at the right time, right place.
It made made it made a bunch of sense, you know,
just with Steph always main character because he was he
was that character on one side of the.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Other, Omar Cook lived what he saw on the screen.
He got game came out when he was at Christ
the King where he was ranked as a top ten
prospect in the country by ESPN.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
It was really good.
Speaker 8 (14:28):
You know, it touched on a lot of you know,
different topics, you know, and being a high school basketball
player at that time and things like that. I knew
it was based around step just because it was a
Coney Island guy and things like that. But uh, you know,
it definitely was a great movie. Great to see it from,
you know, that point of view, different you know, things
going on behind the scenes, whether it's recruitment or personal
(14:51):
situations and things like that. So it definitely is one
of my favorite movies.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Most places, the Marlby phenomenon will be a one time thing.
At Lincoln, things just kept getting bigger, starting with stefan
sophomore year in nineteen ninety three. Lincoln went to fifteen
PSAO championship games in twenty five years and won ten.
The Lincoln dynasty front of the Brooklyn takeover for PSAL hoops.
(15:19):
Since Stefan won it all in nineteen ninety five, Brooklyn
teams have won twenty two of the last twenty seven
PSAO titles. At Lincoln, Marlbury was followed by his cousin,
Sebastian Telfair, who lived one floor below him at Surfside Gardens.
Then came Lance Stevenson and Isaiah White had Telfair won
(15:41):
three championships and Stevenson won four As Lincoln went to
the championship game eight straight years. From the NBA Stephon,
Marlbury kept the eye on Coney Island.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
They was just running off championship. So you know Washington,
Sebastian Washington, Lance Washington, those guys do what they did.
It was deathened for them to do that. It wasn't
something that was like, oh, ken they doing. We knew
that they were capable of doing that because of the
players that they had and the fan fare that Sebastian
(16:15):
and Lance and I said that they played with. So
I always kept a close eye to what they were doing,
although it wasn't really hard to know what was going
on coming from corne Isla and all your family members
a pretty much part of the team, a part of
the organization, or have something to do with it.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
By the time Sebastian arrived at Lincoln, Tony Morton had
succeeded Bobby Harstein as head coach.
Speaker 5 (16:39):
Hotelfia was selling to Stephan in terms of having that
early goal. Step has made the goal even though attainable,
because he's seen success. So Sebastian came in with that
early goal, trying to go to the next level. And
it was amazing because I remember Sebastian crying the year
we lost Thou and he was promising to bring a
(17:02):
championship to Lincoln. I didn't know he's longing three, but
he was promised to do that. I can't I guess
Stefan get with that blue PNT, so you can follow
these footprints to me, he was he was all.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Around point guard.
Speaker 5 (17:15):
I mean he had he had the similar tools and
stuff on and turns out carrying out a team. But
he also had to say similar qualities of off the
court too, he was, so he was a great teammate.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Mister Raisin James Barrett is an assistant coach at Oklahoma State.
He won a city championship during his one season at
Lincoln as a c in two thousand and three. Tough
is junior year.
Speaker 9 (17:38):
He was definitely a different type of person like he
was definitely very mature, way ahead of his years, extremely
hard working, probably one of the hardest workers I've ever
been around, because we all knew like he would work
out in the mornings and then during practice, like we
would run saying we ran sprints and we had to
touch the line. Sebastian would circle around the lines and
(17:59):
still make his He was just in great shape. And
you know, he really he had to drive to do well.
Like his whole passion from what I've seen, was all
like he has to be better than staffs. And because
of him pushing himself as hard as he did, you
know it made all of us push ourselves because it
was contagious, and that was one of the biggest things
(18:19):
that I received from him. He helped me understand what
work ethic was, even being younger than I was, and
still he was a leader without always having to say anything.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
The buzz around Sebastian Telfear started early. A recruiting service
call him the best fourth grader in the country. He
was the first eighth grader to get an invite to
a high profile ABCD summer camp that always drew the
best high school players in the country. Everything with Bassie
was ahead of schedule. He won his first PSAL championship
(18:51):
as a sophomore in two thousand and two, and Lincoln
repeated in two thousand and three. Here's Kenny Pretlow.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Fast in high school. He could shoot it, he could
finish it another you know, Coney Island, they're just tough,
you know, tougher than the Ls. And besides that kill
a smile and a great kid on and off the court.
There wasn't too many people other than the Ponies that
didn't like Sebastian tough. He was a super duper great kid,
(19:22):
great player, and it was just like it was just
great to be around him. Yeah, it was really good.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
All that set up his senior year like maybe no
play in New York City history has ever had. In
the fall, he announced he would play his college ball
for Rick Patino at Louisville, but that was mostly just
to put an end to the recruiting frenzy. At the
same time, he told the writer Ian O'Connor that if
it looked like he was going to go in the
top fifteen of the NBA Draft, that's where he was headed.
(19:52):
With the spotlight on Telfair, Lincoln travel to La Philly
and Louisville for games. At California's Jian Classic, he put
up thirty seven points in the gym for the NBA
GMS in Trenton, New Jersey. He hit a buzzer beater
to beat Dwight Howards team in the prime time Classic.
ESPN broadcast the Showdown with Orlando, Florida guard Darius Washington
(20:15):
at Fordham University. Spike Lee, jay Z, and Derek Jeter
came to Lincoln games. Telfair went with jay Z to
sit courtside for Lebron james first pro game at Madison
Square Garden. Along the way, Telfair passed Kenny Anderson to
become the leading scorer in New York state history and
took care business with Lincoln's third straight PSAL championship. Then
(20:39):
it was onto real business. On May fourth, two thousand
and four, at New York's ESPN Zone, Telfa announced he
was going straight to the NBA and signing the shoe
contract with Adidas. That was one of the biggest deals
in the industry. He was following Lebron James, Kobe Bryant,
and Kevin Garnett and going straight from the preps to
(21:01):
the pros. But no play at the size of the
six foot Telfear had ever gone into lottery. Bassie's bet
paid off when the Portland Trailblazers took him thirteenth overall.
His Kenny Pretlo.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
We actually had his draft party was at Jay Z's
forty forty tho and like I said, the Life of
Rocks all Beyonce he was there. I was like, wow, Biosity,
that's where he did his draft party at. He comes
to the forty forty and everybody parties where Batt was
a great, great time. We're so happy for him. I
don't know, and I always tell people it didn't matter
(21:38):
if he should have went to college or not. He
lived in Corne Island projects, he had a big family
and by the time he got drafted and a couple
other things that he signed, I think he got about
twenty five million. And when you grow up in the
project and you have a chance to get twenty five
million dollars and you can take your family and put
(21:59):
them in better situation, there's no way you're not going
to choose that.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
With Telfair off to the NBA, the party was over,
but the winning wasn't done. The Lance Stevenson era was
on the horizon. Here's James Barrett.
Speaker 9 (22:13):
Glance, you know, followed in those guys footsteps, and he
was another guy who said, hey, I need to be
better than these guys. And I think that was like
the thing that really pushed him to pretty much be
who he was. His father was on them, you know,
and the whole one thing mart Conne Island is the
whole neighborhood gets behind those guys and really propels them.
So they really had like they had to push, you know,
(22:35):
they had a big time push from the community and
his dad and mom obviously did a great job of
just raising them.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Man.
Speaker 9 (22:41):
He was great.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
He was great, and it almost didn't happen. When classes
started in the fall of two thousand and five, Stevenson
was enrolled in Bishop Locklan, which had a pretty good
hoops history of its own, with Mark Jackson, Mike Boynton,
and Curtis Sutner just part of the list. A week later,
he was back home home in Coney Island. Kenny Pretlo
(23:02):
was a Lincoln assistant coach for the entirety of tel
Fear and Stevenson's era.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
Monday morning, all was at work. Chiny calls me and said,
what are you doing? Tiny might work?
Speaker 2 (23:15):
You know, I might work.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
He said, are you sitting down? Said Tinian at work?
Speaker 2 (23:18):
What's what's what's up?
Speaker 4 (23:19):
He said, I got some news. Street said what he said? Man,
is that Lincoln?
Speaker 10 (23:25):
What I said, I thought he was that mister Rockington Rabbit.
He said, nah, he changed his mind, so he enrolled
in Lincoln. I said, how you know? He said, they
called me, But he said, I'm at school right now,
I'm in Lincoln, and I'm looking at him. He's any times.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
And that's how the land Lance Stephenson era began.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Why the drama because right then at fifteen years old,
everybody knew that Lance Stevenson was the next big thing
in New York City high schools. There was no doubt.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Lance Stephenson's linked name is his nickname. He was born
ready as that's a point. He didn't completely dominated as
a freshman, but you saw, well he was going to
become but he had his monks. But he was born Rep.
We had a couple of guys, so he was able
to blend in well. He was born Rep. He's born Reddy.
(24:15):
This kid is specially his aggression. He played, dad, rebounded,
He did whatever you needed him to do to win
the basketball. I'm gonna say it's freshman year fourteen to
sixteen the average, but it's sophomore year, yeahty thirty two.
It's junior year and about thirty four senior year. You know,
he just took up all the scoring low. He could
(24:38):
play inside and out. He was a man amongst the boys.
His aggression played the played really really odd. Then he
had his running meet. A lot of people forget about
warso is on the other guy who went for in
a row. Vudha dyan Ellis Buda and Bacon Boulder. The
two of them He was the engine to answers, walk
(25:00):
them over. We got him on that train and we
ran in for four years straight. We met every challenge
that was put amost put him for us, and we
did it off.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
At the end of Stevenson's freshman year, Lincoln beat his
Coney Island rival Grady for the city championship. The next year,
the PSAL created the Elite Double A level, and Lincoln's
Brooklyn Division was the toughest in the city. Two years running.
They beat Boys and Girls for their own division in
the city championship game, But it was another game against
(25:33):
Boys and Girls, the two thousand and nine Bubbo Championship
game at Saint Francis that Kenny Petlo remembers most when
it comes to Lance Stevenson. Early that fourth quarter, Lincoln
was down fifteen points.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Tiny call the time out. Down fifteen I'm like, I
don't know to say, you know, we're standing there. The
team is walking to us. So he stopped the huddled
with four Tiny could say anything. Man's then to over
check guys and tired, give me the fucking ball because
I'm about and he said a real slow to us.
(26:08):
These guys asked Timmy, Tiny say nothing A lou Bro
went out Land, scored fifteen straight points, grabbed about seven
eight rebounds, tied the game up last poite the game
tie game, Lance drove. He knew there was no way
they were gonna let him beat him. They converged on
(26:30):
him and he kicked it to the engine and bow.
They headed like a fifteen foot jumper at the buzzer,
and I mean we were we were beside it. I
was like, Wow, this is this kid is something else.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
A month later, Lincoln b jfk at MSG for Stevenson's
fourth PSA L championship. Along the way, he had passed
the Bashian Telfair for the top spot on the States
all time scoringless. It's the kind of high school career
that can't be top. Lance Stevenson did it all. Here's
tiny Morton.
Speaker 5 (27:04):
I always thought last had been out point guard because
I thought he had the skills too, and I thought
that he was probably gonna be able to play that
position at the next level. Sometimes, you know, his father
didn't want him to be the point He wanted.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
Him to break record scoring.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
But I thought he could have.
Speaker 5 (27:18):
Did both last night. That had more divisional players around him.
As four years out of Lincoln and the other two.
So you know, even though he still dominated, I thought
that we had great teams those four years awesome.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
So it was easy to putt Lance.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
All over the part.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Marlbury tell Fair Stevenson, well you're next in line. That's
a lot to live up to. Isaiah White had arrived
at Lincoln in twenty ten with similar expectations. James Barrett
played with Heel Fear and came back to Lincoln as
an assistant coach during white Hats years.
Speaker 9 (27:54):
He was a very smart player. Like Isaiah, was a
type of person who you would only have to tell
him something once and he would soak it all up.
Which was special because normally, you know, with guys, even
on this level in the Big twelve, you know, you've
got to tell guys things a couple of times. We
had practice every single day and you know, take some
time watch film with them, and it takes some time
(28:14):
for them to kind of pick things up. But Isaiah
was the type of person who who would only have
to tell him once and he'll get it. Sometimes he'll
sit there and tell you and explain to you, and
he would challenge. He would challenge things, which was great.
Because that kind of helped with his development, and also
it helped me, you know, as a young coach of
just really making sure that I was on point with
(28:36):
with what I was telling the guys and you know
the information that I had brought back. So, you know,
coaching Isaiah was really a great situation. He was really
big on watching basketball, Like Isaiah really watched a lot
of basketball. He would watch older games. He would really
study the game and you know, use some of the
moves that he's seen and take those moves and adam
(28:58):
into his game.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Lincoln lost the championship game to division rivals Boys and
Girls when Whitehead was a freshman, right in the middle
of a Boys and Girls street peat. Two years later,
he got his championship with the win over another rival
from the city's toughest division, Brooklyn's Thomas Jefferson in twenty thirteen.
When he committed to Seaton Hall that fall, Whitehead was
(29:21):
the highest rated in New York City recruit since Stevenson
five years earlier. After two seasons at the Hall, he
would follow Marlberry, Telfair, and Stevenson into the NBA. Here's
Kenny Petlow.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
He was just as talented. He can handle, you know,
shot the ball. You know, he probably shot the ball
better than Lance and Bassie. She could come over about
two girls. We used to send him off picks. He
just raised up in threes. He was a different type.
He was very talented, but he was a different type
of player than them. I knew it would be a
(29:58):
little different with him. He was very good. A lot
of expectations Cooney Allen kid following in the footsteps, right
yere did get a championship. He had a great legacy,
you know, but he was he was a different type
of playing in them. He was more a for nasty
could getting the laid finished, more jumps, made a lot
(30:19):
of jump shots, deep shooter, so it was a little different.
But he did get a championship. I was happy for
him that he got the championship.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Morton went to Seaton Hall as an assistant coach in
twenty fourteen, handed the team off to Pretlo, then came
back a year later. He had Lincoln back in the
championship game in twenty sixteen, then won it again in
twenty seventeen. It was his ninth PSAL championship coaching the
rail Splitters. A year later he left Lincoln again for
(30:49):
Nazareth as the AD and head coach. Here's James Barrett,
who played for Morton and coach with him.
Speaker 9 (30:57):
Playing for Tiny was a great experience Tommy was on.
He really related to us. He had played, He played
at Linking and won the Sydney Championship as a player
and then one as an assistant coach when Steph played.
So just those experiences and you know, talking to somebody
who looked like we did, who dressed like we did,
and who could communicate on our level but had a
(31:19):
big grasp of just knowledge for us to learn from.
He had a lot of swag. You know, he he
obviously knew what it took to win, you know, being
that he had won numerous championships before we even played
for him, So you know, just kind of soaking up
all the knowledge possible and you know, just growing.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
And Kenny Pretlo, Morton's assistant coach for thirteen seasons.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
The one thing I learned from Tiny is he treated
every team different.
Speaker 9 (31:45):
So we went three in a row.
Speaker 4 (31:48):
So the next year he wouldn't say that this team
we're defending, says there's the before guyant here that one
last year, Tiny asset of the coaches. His field for
the game is willingness to use and develop role players,
which I understood, and I saw it as we were
wanting and people didn't understand how many games we want
(32:08):
because the role players. His commitment to make ensure that
his star player got everything he deserved, which, of course,
as you can see, they want mecdonald all Americans and
he all went to the proms. Just give him some
players and if he has a star, that star's gonna shine.
Tightening sure that we'll make sure the stars shine with you.
(32:31):
Guys got to help, and I think that was the
difference when we had to go to these tough battles,
that we had kids that understood the lights on as
big for us the lights on, So everybody got to
perform with the lights on.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Coming up next week on Basketball's Borough, we're catching up
with the coaches. Brooklyn has some of the greats. Find
out what made Red All back. Red Hallsman Lenny Wilkins
an lovely brown Hall of Famous
I'm obsessed with the game any chance I can watch it,
talk about it, read about it, learn more about it.
And I didn't get the chance to see Kenny Anderson play,
he was too much older than I was watch him
play in high school. But I saw Steph and I
don't think I ever felt like I watched somebody that
I thought was better than Steph. All about hurry at
playing basketball. He's the best basketball player I ever got
(00:26):
to watch play. Just his aura, his presence, because you
felt like it was bigger than Brooklyn with Steph, you
know what I mean, if that makes any sense, Like
you felt like he was a cultural figure. You felt
like he was a national presence, and he was from Brooklyn,
which made it even cooler. Like watching him athletically, skill wise,
(00:47):
and knowing the background of his older brothers in that path,
you'll only added to you.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Know, what his legacy became.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
And so you know, he was definitely the guy in
terms of who I looked up to as the gold standard.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
It was Dephitely, Stephford.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
That's Mike Boynton, former head coach at Oklahoma State. He
graduated Bishop b Lockland in two thousand, making him part
of the first class of Brooklyn bawlers who grew up
watching Steph on Marlbury at Lincoln High School. Guys like
that were in between the days when Steph put Lincoln
on the map and Sebastian Telfia made it a dynasty.
(01:23):
One of the first stories we told you about here
on Brooklyn's Borough was the Legend of Boys High. Forty
years later, the kids from Coney Island redefined what it
means to be a high school dynasty in New York City.
I'll meet you Darko from the Flatber Zombies, and that's
what we're talking about this week on Basketball's Borough. For decades,
(01:57):
the high schools in Brooklyn and the rest of the
city with the source New York City's leagues had the
deepest pool of talent in the country, and YC had
powerhouse teams and hugely hype high school ballers. From Kareem
out through Jabal back when he was known as lew
House Center to Kenny Anderson. What happened that Lincoln High School,
(02:18):
starting with Stephan Marlberry was different from all of that.
They wrote books about these teams, they made movies about
these kids, they put them on national television.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
It's Hollywood Hollywood, Hollywood. We got a park, we got
through the fire. Then we had there was another documentary
being done that that tiny We were micd for Channel
twenty five or something that came on every week. You
had the fans and you had the Coney Allen people
following them. It was like being in Hollywood rock Star.
(02:52):
We went to California. We played Dwight Howard and we
beat Dwight Howard by one point. It was just like
it was high.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Tree.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
You like rock stars, Tree, you like rock stars. Played
in front of Derek Jeter, who was my idol. I'm
a big Yankee fan, and I had Derrik. Yeah. I
said time, y'all can't coach der I wasn't going with
a get on the back Jz's in our locker room.
We were rock stars, Holliwood rock stars.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
That's assistant coach Kenny Pretlo talking about the year it
all really blew up. Sebastian Telfair senior season, Lincoln was
chasing his third straight city title. Bassie was thinking about
going pro straight out of high school. Everybody wanted a
piece of the show. Sports columnist Ian O'Connor spent the
year trailing Telfair for a book he called The Jump,
(03:45):
and director Jonathan Hock did the same for his documentary
Through the Fire. In March two thousand and four, Sports
Illustrated put eighteen year old Sebastian Telfair on his cover.
Here is Lincoln High School head coach Tiny Morton.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
It was the pole that be that that allowed it.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
You know, you have parents that that one of them,
if you had ministrats that allowed it, and I just
try to make sure that you know, at the beginning
of the year after maybe Steve camp he really thought
when Lebron went to the NBA out of high school,
he really thought that he could make it.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
So my focus is on that.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
It wasn't New York, wasn't on the book, Crusade or
the movie was more or less out to make sure
to help his kiky to the NBA out of high school.
It was chaotic for me, to be honest, because it
was nothing I was used to. I wasn't being had
anybody listen to me to tell me, is this the
right thing?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Is the wrong thing?
Speaker 5 (04:32):
It wasn't my career, So I didn't want to stop
a young man from not being able to have a
movie in the book, So it was only job training.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Still, the medium machine was never with Tiny was expecting
back in nineteen ninety four when he was asked to
be assistant to Lincoln head coach Bobby Harstein, going into
Stephan Marlberby senior year. There was a history at Lincoln
for both Tonnie Morton and the Marl beerverys. Stephahn's brother
Eric had gone on to play four years at Georgia.
In the early eighties, Don Marlberry played travel ball for
(05:03):
the Gauchos with Pearl Washington and John Sally, and went
to Texas A and M. Norman Maulberry. They call him Juju,
played a year at Saint Francis, and Brooklyn Morton had
played at Lincoln for Hartstein, including the season with Norman Marlberry.
He was sophomore on Lincoln's nineteen eighty six PSAL championship team.
(05:24):
In nineteen ninety one, Lincoln won the city again and
a young rider named Darcy Frey spent the summer and
half the following season on Coney Island for a book
called The Last Shot. He spent most of his time
with three returning seniors to Chaka's ship, Corey Johnson and
Darryl flicking, but they were also joined that season by
(05:46):
freshman guard whose rep was a ready bursting around Coney
Island and beyond, Stephan Maulberry.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I started playing from when I was like two years old.
I've lily all my brothers played, so you know, they
literally put the ballers out on my crib from when
I was a baby, and you know, ever since I
could remember, I've been playing basketball or had something to
do with basketball up until right now at forty five
years old. So pretty much all my life it's been
(06:16):
nothing but basketball. I was the kid that used to
be on a microphone from little age, probably like six
to like ten. I used to be the kid that
WO havetime go shoot on the court. So everyone had
an idea about who I was because of my brothers,
But when I got on the court and I played,
(06:38):
they knew me from my style of play, which my
style was different from everyone else's because you know, I
was the kind of guy that could dribble, I could shoot,
I could pass, which a lot of young kids weren't
able to do. I was able to shoot jump shots
from three point line. You know, when I was nineteen
years old, I was shooting jump shot because of how
(06:59):
I was already being trained. So you know, I was
the kid that used to basically be on a mic
and when the team's lost, IU be the kids singing
bye bye bird see you that year, like when they
used to play the games, So like a little mascot
for the neighborhood teams. And you know when people used
(07:20):
to hear me and talk, they'd be like, who is
this kid talking? And then I get on the court
and then I started playing and was like, oh, that's
everybody's brother. I was known on the court head off
the word.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Here's Tony Morton.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
Steph used to be around mostly in the summertime when
I was playing with normal.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
I wasn't playing with.
Speaker 5 (07:38):
Tony, but he used to come to the games when
drumbs on the team where he was definitely one of
those young guys that was always around on Lincoln around
call me.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Out playing basketball.
Speaker 5 (07:47):
The way he carried itself was special. He carried itself
like a professional at a young age. He had a
goal early and like his goals were set. You know
exactly where he wanted to go and what he wanted
to do. It wasn't nobody stif and he showed that
on record as well.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Charles Jones is two years older than Maulbery and started
at Brooklyn's Bishop Ford. After playing two years at Rutgers,
he transferred back to Brooklyn and let the nation and
score in two straight years.
Speaker 6 (08:14):
To ally you, you know, Steph was really good since
he twelve thirteen, even when he had the little jersey,
the jersey was too big for him and he had
the rocket with the loops over and he was.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Calling him X. That was I mean, this is what I'm.
Speaker 6 (08:29):
Saying that when you see people that you know just
become stars and you and you're going through it at
the same point in time, man like that was shot minutes.
Because you watched the cole You've seen this process. You
see the goal from there, a team well pre team
twent teenage a Lincoln running through the public league.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Aside from Lincoln High School itself, the center of Coney
Island's basketball culture was right outside Marlbury's door in the
Surfside Garden's Projects, a carefully maintained basketball oasis they called
the Garden.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
That's where I honed in all my skills, and I
think that that place was always special because so many
people came took on the Island to play. It was
known for its rigorous, tough style of play, getting thrown
into the gate, no fouls, really physical. So you know
a lot of people came to that court to basically play.
(09:26):
And you know when you won over the people who
watched you play at that court, wherever you were from,
whether it was from Harlem, Queen's, the Bronx, when you came,
they showed respect to those players. People would know them
from their hoop game. So the Garden is a specially place,
not only for the court, but it's just it's a
place where you can get your reputation from as a hooper.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
When the stars in the nineteen ninety one championship team graduated,
it was Marlbury's turn going into the sophomore year. In
nineteen ninety two, Ray Haskins w the city championship coaching
at Alexander Hamilton High School, coaching against Lincoln teams that
had Stephan Maulberry as a ball boy. While his older
brother played. Haskins coach Brooklyn's lu to the NCAA tournament.
(10:15):
It's some more year.
Speaker 7 (10:16):
He just blew up, just I mean just blew up.
You could see at talent, but he i mean, he
was just amazing, tremendous, tremendous Stephon mean, at a young
age he could shoot one of the things that I mean,
guys have to learn how to handle, how to pass,
do this or that well, shooting naser quality if you
(10:36):
could shoot you halfway there.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
None of Stephan's brothers have won a city championship at Lincoln.
Norman lost the PSAL title game his sophomore and junior years,
and Stepan did the same. His senior year was a
coroed nation with Georgia Tech coach Bobby Kremen's watching. At MSG,
Stephon scored twenty six points to lead Lincoln over another
(10:59):
Brooklyn school, Robson, for the PSAL championship. At the state championships,
Lincoln b Ronald Tesla Sole team and Lamar odoms Christ
the King team for the title. Stefan was the MVP
King of New York. Fort Green's Omar Cook was part
of the next class of Brooklyn playmakers, going on to
(11:21):
Saint Johnson two thousand and then a twenty year pro career.
Speaker 8 (11:25):
It was the guy that was the guy like you know,
growing up, you know watching him and at that time
you had, you know, like Marlberry, shamguard. You had Karee Reed,
so it was New York basketball. It was really big
at the time with point guard. You know, you had
Ray for Austin. So there's a lot of guys. But
he was to die, you know, like he was really
could shoot the ball. Was Duncan had, you know, swagger
(11:48):
cameras following him before. It was like social media at
the time, so it was easy for me to you know,
have access to him because it was a lot of
things surrounding him, so it was easy for me to
kind of like go to or you know, see things
like that, so I was able to see it firsthand.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
Here's Kenny prent Low Again, everybody know who Steph was.
I mean, he was the best player in New York
City probably all four years he was in high school.
He was ridiculous. It wasn't only Brooklyn. He was known
all throughout the country. He was ranked the number one
sixth grader back in those days. Everybody knewho step was.
You know, he had a following.
Speaker 6 (12:26):
You know, he was cool.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
He looked the part and he played the part. What
a lot of people really didn't understand about him. As
talented as he was he was tough as nails, toughest nails.
I never seen anybody get the best of Steph on
it high school. I mean, he was just ridiculous. He
was a name among them, like, you know, you had
(12:48):
Pearl and you had Mark Jackson, you had Kenny the
jet Smith, Kenny Anderson. But Steph he was just you know,
he had this the high arc and jumper, you know,
the move was the passes, and he was just it.
Step from Marlbury in high school, he was it.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
If there's any doubt about how big a legacy stuff
on Marlberry built. In the nineties, three years after he
graduated from Lincoln, Spike Lee's He Got Game featured a
basketball superstar from Coney Island and Lincoln High School was
being chased by relentless college recruiters.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Spankly asked me the auditions for the part. Now. I
told them, I'm not going to audition to play me.
At the time, I understood what he was saying as
far as you know, this is different. You know you're
going to be acting, so you need the audition so
you know they can see. But at that time I
really can't see that. The movie was definitely based up
it was based on my story. It wasn't based on
anyone else. I mean, that was pretty evident. It was
(13:47):
a really well done movie and it shows homage to
you know, what was done at Lincoln.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Here's Tony Morton.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
I was close to the project. I had a cameo,
but you Pby wouldn't say it.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
But it was good.
Speaker 5 (14:02):
It was great time for Spike Lee also, he did
He did that movie at the right time, right place.
It made made it made a bunch of sense, you know,
just with Steph always main character because he was he
was that character on one side of the.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Other, Omar Cook lived what he saw on the screen.
He got game came out when he was at Christ
the King where he was ranked as a top ten
prospect in the country by ESPN.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
It was really good.
Speaker 8 (14:28):
You know, it touched on a lot of you know,
different topics, you know, and being a high school basketball
player at that time and things like that. I knew
it was based around step just because it was a
Coney Island guy and things like that. But uh, you know,
it definitely was a great movie. Great to see it from,
you know, that point of view, different you know, things
going on behind the scenes, whether it's recruitment or personal
(14:51):
situations and things like that. So it definitely is one
of my favorite movies.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Most places, the Marlby phenomenon will be a one time thing.
At Lincoln, things just kept getting bigger, starting with stefan
sophomore year in nineteen ninety three. Lincoln went to fifteen
PSAO championship games in twenty five years and won ten.
The Lincoln dynasty front of the Brooklyn takeover for PSAL hoops.
(15:19):
Since Stefan won it all in nineteen ninety five, Brooklyn
teams have won twenty two of the last twenty seven
PSAO titles. At Lincoln, Marlbury was followed by his cousin,
Sebastian Telfair, who lived one floor below him at Surfside Gardens.
Then came Lance Stevenson and Isaiah White had Telfair won
(15:41):
three championships and Stevenson won four As Lincoln went to
the championship game eight straight years. From the NBA Stephon,
Marlbury kept the eye on Coney Island.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
They was just running off championship. So you know Washington,
Sebastian Washington, Lance Washington, those guys do what they did.
It was deathened for them to do that. It wasn't
something that was like, oh, ken they doing. We knew
that they were capable of doing that because of the
players that they had and the fan fare that Sebastian
(16:15):
and Lance and I said that they played with. So
I always kept a close eye to what they were doing,
although it wasn't really hard to know what was going
on coming from corne Isla and all your family members
a pretty much part of the team, a part of
the organization, or have something to do with it.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
By the time Sebastian arrived at Lincoln, Tony Morton had
succeeded Bobby Harstein as head coach.
Speaker 5 (16:39):
Hotelfia was selling to Stephan in terms of having that
early goal. Step has made the goal even though attainable,
because he's seen success. So Sebastian came in with that
early goal, trying to go to the next level. And
it was amazing because I remember Sebastian crying the year
we lost Thou and he was promising to bring a
(17:02):
championship to Lincoln. I didn't know he's longing three, but
he was promised to do that. I can't I guess
Stefan get with that blue PNT, so you can follow
these footprints to me, he was he was all.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Around point guard.
Speaker 5 (17:15):
I mean he had he had the similar tools and
stuff on and turns out carrying out a team. But
he also had to say similar qualities of off the
court too, he was, so he was a great teammate.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Mister Raisin James Barrett is an assistant coach at Oklahoma State.
He won a city championship during his one season at
Lincoln as a c in two thousand and three. Tough
is junior year.
Speaker 9 (17:38):
He was definitely a different type of person like he
was definitely very mature, way ahead of his years, extremely
hard working, probably one of the hardest workers I've ever
been around, because we all knew like he would work
out in the mornings and then during practice, like we
would run saying we ran sprints and we had to
touch the line. Sebastian would circle around the lines and
(17:59):
still make his He was just in great shape. And
you know, he really he had to drive to do well.
Like his whole passion from what I've seen, was all
like he has to be better than staffs. And because
of him pushing himself as hard as he did, you
know it made all of us push ourselves because it
was contagious, and that was one of the biggest things
(18:19):
that I received from him. He helped me understand what
work ethic was, even being younger than I was, and
still he was a leader without always having to say anything.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
The buzz around Sebastian Telfear started early. A recruiting service
call him the best fourth grader in the country. He
was the first eighth grader to get an invite to
a high profile ABCD summer camp that always drew the
best high school players in the country. Everything with Bassie
was ahead of schedule. He won his first PSAL championship
(18:51):
as a sophomore in two thousand and two, and Lincoln
repeated in two thousand and three. Here's Kenny Pretlow.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Fast in high school. He could shoot it, he could
finish it another you know, Coney Island, they're just tough,
you know, tougher than the Ls. And besides that kill
a smile and a great kid on and off the court.
There wasn't too many people other than the Ponies that
didn't like Sebastian tough. He was a super duper great kid,
(19:22):
great player, and it was just like it was just
great to be around him. Yeah, it was really good.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
All that set up his senior year like maybe no
play in New York City history has ever had. In
the fall, he announced he would play his college ball
for Rick Patino at Louisville, but that was mostly just
to put an end to the recruiting frenzy. At the
same time, he told the writer Ian O'Connor that if
it looked like he was going to go in the
top fifteen of the NBA Draft, that's where he was headed.
(19:52):
With the spotlight on Telfair, Lincoln travel to La Philly
and Louisville for games. At California's Jian Classic, he put
up thirty seven points in the gym for the NBA
GMS in Trenton, New Jersey. He hit a buzzer beater
to beat Dwight Howards team in the prime time Classic.
ESPN broadcast the Showdown with Orlando, Florida guard Darius Washington
(20:15):
at Fordham University. Spike Lee, jay Z, and Derek Jeter
came to Lincoln games. Telfair went with jay Z to
sit courtside for Lebron james first pro game at Madison
Square Garden. Along the way, Telfair passed Kenny Anderson to
become the leading scorer in New York state history and
took care business with Lincoln's third straight PSAL championship. Then
(20:39):
it was onto real business. On May fourth, two thousand
and four, at New York's ESPN Zone, Telfa announced he
was going straight to the NBA and signing the shoe
contract with Adidas. That was one of the biggest deals
in the industry. He was following Lebron James, Kobe Bryant,
and Kevin Garnett and going straight from the preps to
(21:01):
the pros. But no play at the size of the
six foot Telfear had ever gone into lottery. Bassie's bet
paid off when the Portland Trailblazers took him thirteenth overall.
His Kenny Pretlo.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
We actually had his draft party was at Jay Z's
forty forty tho and like I said, the Life of
Rocks all Beyonce he was there. I was like, wow, Biosity,
that's where he did his draft party at. He comes
to the forty forty and everybody parties where Batt was
a great, great time. We're so happy for him. I
don't know, and I always tell people it didn't matter
(21:38):
if he should have went to college or not. He
lived in Corne Island projects, he had a big family
and by the time he got drafted and a couple
other things that he signed, I think he got about
twenty five million. And when you grow up in the
project and you have a chance to get twenty five
million dollars and you can take your family and put
(21:59):
them in better situation, there's no way you're not going
to choose that.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
With Telfair off to the NBA, the party was over,
but the winning wasn't done. The Lance Stevenson era was
on the horizon. Here's James Barrett.
Speaker 9 (22:13):
Glance, you know, followed in those guys footsteps, and he
was another guy who said, hey, I need to be
better than these guys. And I think that was like
the thing that really pushed him to pretty much be
who he was. His father was on them, you know,
and the whole one thing mart Conne Island is the
whole neighborhood gets behind those guys and really propels them.
So they really had like they had to push, you know,
(22:35):
they had a big time push from the community and
his dad and mom obviously did a great job of
just raising them.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Man.
Speaker 9 (22:41):
He was great.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
He was great, and it almost didn't happen. When classes
started in the fall of two thousand and five, Stevenson
was enrolled in Bishop Locklan, which had a pretty good
hoops history of its own, with Mark Jackson, Mike Boynton,
and Curtis Sutner just part of the list. A week later,
he was back home home in Coney Island. Kenny Pretlo
(23:02):
was a Lincoln assistant coach for the entirety of tel
Fear and Stevenson's era.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
Monday morning, all was at work. Chiny calls me and said,
what are you doing? Tiny might work?
Speaker 2 (23:15):
You know, I might work.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
He said, are you sitting down? Said Tinian at work?
Speaker 2 (23:18):
What's what's what's up?
Speaker 4 (23:19):
He said, I got some news. Street said what he said? Man,
is that Lincoln?
Speaker 10 (23:25):
What I said, I thought he was that mister Rockington Rabbit.
He said, nah, he changed his mind, so he enrolled
in Lincoln. I said, how you know? He said, they
called me, But he said, I'm at school right now,
I'm in Lincoln, and I'm looking at him. He's any times.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
And that's how the land Lance Stephenson era began.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Why the drama because right then at fifteen years old,
everybody knew that Lance Stevenson was the next big thing
in New York City high schools. There was no doubt.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Lance Stephenson's linked name is his nickname. He was born
ready as that's a point. He didn't completely dominated as
a freshman, but you saw, well he was going to
become but he had his monks. But he was born Rep.
We had a couple of guys, so he was able
to blend in well. He was born Rep. He's born Reddy.
(24:15):
This kid is specially his aggression. He played, dad, rebounded,
He did whatever you needed him to do to win
the basketball. I'm gonna say it's freshman year fourteen to
sixteen the average, but it's sophomore year, yeahty thirty two.
It's junior year and about thirty four senior year. You know,
he just took up all the scoring low. He could
(24:38):
play inside and out. He was a man amongst the boys.
His aggression played the played really really odd. Then he
had his running meet. A lot of people forget about
warso is on the other guy who went for in
a row. Vudha dyan Ellis Buda and Bacon Boulder. The
two of them He was the engine to answers, walk
(25:00):
them over. We got him on that train and we
ran in for four years straight. We met every challenge
that was put amost put him for us, and we
did it off.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
At the end of Stevenson's freshman year, Lincoln beat his
Coney Island rival Grady for the city championship. The next year,
the PSAL created the Elite Double A level, and Lincoln's
Brooklyn Division was the toughest in the city. Two years running.
They beat Boys and Girls for their own division in
the city championship game, But it was another game against
(25:33):
Boys and Girls, the two thousand and nine Bubbo Championship
game at Saint Francis that Kenny Petlo remembers most when
it comes to Lance Stevenson. Early that fourth quarter, Lincoln
was down fifteen points.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Tiny call the time out. Down fifteen I'm like, I
don't know to say, you know, we're standing there. The
team is walking to us. So he stopped the huddled
with four Tiny could say anything. Man's then to over
check guys and tired, give me the fucking ball because
I'm about and he said a real slow to us.
(26:08):
These guys asked Timmy, Tiny say nothing A lou Bro
went out Land, scored fifteen straight points, grabbed about seven
eight rebounds, tied the game up last poite the game
tie game, Lance drove. He knew there was no way
they were gonna let him beat him. They converged on
(26:30):
him and he kicked it to the engine and bow.
They headed like a fifteen foot jumper at the buzzer,
and I mean we were we were beside it. I
was like, Wow, this is this kid is something else.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
A month later, Lincoln b jfk at MSG for Stevenson's
fourth PSA L championship. Along the way, he had passed
the Bashian Telfair for the top spot on the States
all time scoringless. It's the kind of high school career
that can't be top. Lance Stevenson did it all. Here's
tiny Morton.
Speaker 5 (27:04):
I always thought last had been out point guard because
I thought he had the skills too, and I thought
that he was probably gonna be able to play that
position at the next level. Sometimes, you know, his father
didn't want him to be the point He wanted.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
Him to break record scoring.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
But I thought he could have.
Speaker 5 (27:18):
Did both last night. That had more divisional players around him.
As four years out of Lincoln and the other two.
So you know, even though he still dominated, I thought
that we had great teams those four years awesome.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
So it was easy to putt Lance.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
All over the part.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Marlbury tell Fair Stevenson, well you're next in line. That's
a lot to live up to. Isaiah White had arrived
at Lincoln in twenty ten with similar expectations. James Barrett
played with Heel Fear and came back to Lincoln as
an assistant coach during white Hats years.
Speaker 9 (27:54):
He was a very smart player. Like Isaiah, was a
type of person who you would only have to tell
him something once and he would soak it all up.
Which was special because normally, you know, with guys, even
on this level in the Big twelve, you know, you've
got to tell guys things a couple of times. We
had practice every single day and you know, take some
time watch film with them, and it takes some time
(28:14):
for them to kind of pick things up. But Isaiah
was the type of person who who would only have
to tell him once and he'll get it. Sometimes he'll
sit there and tell you and explain to you, and
he would challenge. He would challenge things, which was great.
Because that kind of helped with his development, and also
it helped me, you know, as a young coach of
just really making sure that I was on point with
(28:36):
with what I was telling the guys and you know
the information that I had brought back. So, you know,
coaching Isaiah was really a great situation. He was really
big on watching basketball, Like Isaiah really watched a lot
of basketball. He would watch older games. He would really
study the game and you know, use some of the
moves that he's seen and take those moves and adam
(28:58):
into his game.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Lincoln lost the championship game to division rivals Boys and
Girls when Whitehead was a freshman, right in the middle
of a Boys and Girls street peat. Two years later,
he got his championship with the win over another rival
from the city's toughest division, Brooklyn's Thomas Jefferson in twenty thirteen.
When he committed to Seaton Hall that fall, Whitehead was
(29:21):
the highest rated in New York City recruit since Stevenson
five years earlier. After two seasons at the Hall, he
would follow Marlberry, Telfair, and Stevenson into the NBA. Here's
Kenny Petlow.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
He was just as talented. He can handle, you know,
shot the ball. You know, he probably shot the ball
better than Lance and Bassie. She could come over about
two girls. We used to send him off picks. He
just raised up in threes. He was a different type.
He was very talented, but he was a different type
of player than them. I knew it would be a
(29:58):
little different with him. He was very good. A lot
of expectations Cooney Allen kid following in the footsteps, right
yere did get a championship. He had a great legacy,
you know, but he was he was a different type
of playing in them. He was more a for nasty
could getting the laid finished, more jumps, made a lot
(30:19):
of jump shots, deep shooter, so it was a little different.
But he did get a championship. I was happy for
him that he got the championship.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Morton went to Seaton Hall as an assistant coach in
twenty fourteen, handed the team off to Pretlo, then came
back a year later. He had Lincoln back in the
championship game in twenty sixteen, then won it again in
twenty seventeen. It was his ninth PSAL championship coaching the
rail Splitters. A year later he left Lincoln again for
(30:49):
Nazareth as the AD and head coach. Here's James Barrett,
who played for Morton and coach with him.
Speaker 9 (30:57):
Playing for Tiny was a great experience Tommy was on.
He really related to us. He had played, He played
at Linking and won the Sydney Championship as a player
and then one as an assistant coach when Steph played.
So just those experiences and you know, talking to somebody
who looked like we did, who dressed like we did,
and who could communicate on our level but had a
(31:19):
big grasp of just knowledge for us to learn from.
He had a lot of swag. You know, he he
obviously knew what it took to win, you know, being
that he had won numerous championships before we even played
for him, So you know, just kind of soaking up
all the knowledge possible and you know, just growing.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
And Kenny Pretlo, Morton's assistant coach for thirteen seasons.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
The one thing I learned from Tiny is he treated
every team different.
Speaker 9 (31:45):
So we went three in a row.
Speaker 4 (31:48):
So the next year he wouldn't say that this team
we're defending, says there's the before guyant here that one
last year, Tiny asset of the coaches. His field for
the game is willingness to use and develop role players,
which I understood, and I saw it as we were
wanting and people didn't understand how many games we want
(32:08):
because the role players. His commitment to make ensure that
his star player got everything he deserved, which, of course,
as you can see, they want mecdonald all Americans and
he all went to the proms. Just give him some
players and if he has a star, that star's gonna shine.
Tightening sure that we'll make sure the stars shine with you.
(32:31):
Guys got to help, and I think that was the
difference when we had to go to these tough battles,
that we had kids that understood the lights on as
big for us the lights on, So everybody got to
perform with the lights on.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Coming up next week on Basketball's Borough, we're catching up
with the coaches. Brooklyn has some of the greats. Find
out what made Red All back. Red Hallsman Lenny Wilkins
an lovely brown Hall of Famous
Host
Meechy Darko
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