This was the night sure to change everyone' lives. This was a rags-to-riches, American dream kind of night, because David
Stern was calling out all those first-round names and Jamel Thomas was
certain to be among them.
Jamel was 3 when his mother was murdered. Erica Telfair already had
a full house in her project apartment, but she took in Jamel and his 1-
year-old brother, Deon, because thats what the good people inside Surfside Gardens did. They took care of their own. Lord knew nobody was
about to do it for them.
Thomas wasnt easy to raise. As a teen, his nickname was Five
Thirtythats when hed come in from the streets and call it a morning.
But Thomas and Stephon Marbury were two ballers who would show up
in Bobby Hartsteins gym at Abraham Lincoln High as eighth grade
prospects determined to someday take the Railsplitters to Madison
Square Garden and the city crown.
Hartstein knew Marbury. Everyone in Coney Island knew Marbury.
He was the wonderchild, the younger brother coming behind Eric,
Donnie, and Norman, Lincoln stars all. So no, Hartstein didnt ask Marbury
to identify himself. The coach wanted to know a little about his
taller friend.
Whos that? Hartstein asked.
My cousin Jamel, Marbury answered.
How does he do in school?
He doesnt go to school, Coach.
What do you mean he doesnt go to school?
Well, he doesnt go every day.
Where does he think hes going to high school?
Right here, Coach.
Well, hes going to school every single day if he thinks hes going to
play basketball for Lincoln.
Thomas didnt go to school every single day, but he developed into a
representativeif withdrawnstudent. He was always good in math,
but as a freshman, hed refuse to complete the essay portion of a test
simply because he didnt believe he could write one. This inspired
Lenore Braverman, English teacher, to make an offer. Braverman asked
Thomas if he wanted to live with her and her husband in their uppermiddle-
class home.
Hartstein thought it was a terrific idea, but he had to run it by the
Telfair and Marbury families. They didnt know Mrs. Braverman from
a hole in the wall, Hartstein said. They were wondering, Why is this
white Jewish woman going to bring a black kid into her house, because
she thinks shes going to cash in on him someday? The coach vouched
for Braverman, and Stephon did the same.
Thomas would stay with the Bravermans during the week and return
to the projects for the weekends. Early on, he struggled with the discipline.
No kid nicknamed Five Thirty could embrace a 10:00 P.M. bedtime.
Ultimately, the Bravermans helped him turn around his life. Thomas
went from a kid who wouldnt write an essay to one who scored high
enough on his SATin the 800s, Hartstein saidto win a scholarship
to Providence College.
Thomas earned that scholarship by being 6-foot-5, and by playing
Pippen to Marburys Jordan. But he was lucky to have had any major Division
I possibilities at all. Providence and Rutgers wanted him; all the
true powerhouse programs were busy with Marbury, the best prep guard
in America.
The Thomas and Marbury home recruiting visits were set up for the
same night, with heavyweights such as Syracuse and UCLA making their
pitches in Marburys fourth-floor apartment while Providence set its
sights one floor below, literally and figuratively. Bobby Gonzalez, the
Providence assistant, worked Thomas hard, believing he had a steal.
But by becoming active participants in the Thomas recruitment, the
Marburys nearly blew the best scholarship offer Jamel had. Pete Gillen,
the Providence coach, made the home visit with his aide, Louis Orr,
while Hartstein was in Lutheran Hospital with a bleeding ulcer and
other stomach problems. Gerard Bell, Hartsteins assistant, sat in for his
boss. Gillen brought Orr to the meeting instead of Gonzalez because he
figured the former Syracuse star and Knicks forward would make a
lasting impression.
The Marburys were the ones who made the lasting impression, shuttling
between Stephons meetings and Jamels. Given their experience
with college coaches, the Marburys appointed themselves Jamels recruiting
coordinators. Don Marbury and his sons Donnie and Eric sat in
on the Providence home visit. During that visit, Orr emerged from a
separate conference with Marbury family members to tell Gillen there
was a major problem.
Gillen ended the visit, picked up Gonzalez, and arrived in Hartsteins
hospital room. The Lincoln coach had IV tubes running into his arms.
He was expecting a courtesy visit but instead got an earful of bad news.
Bobby H, Gillen said. I think weve got to back off of this one. You
know we love Jamel. Hes a great kid. But its too crazy up there, and I
dont think we can get involved with this one.
Pete, Hartstein said, let me handle it. As soon as I get this IV out
of my arm, Ill straighten it out.
Hartstein immediately called Don Marbury, the patriarch, and one of
his older sons to the hospital. I laid into them, Hartstein said. I said,
Are you out of your mind? They said, Coach, but we didnt mean anything.
I said, Listen, do what I tell you and keep your mouth shut. Do
you want to ruin everything for Jamel? And they said, No, no, no.
Gillen would agree to continue recruiting Thomas only if Hartstein
gained control of the process. There were a lot of crazy things in the
recruiting process, Gillen said. I said, Bobby, if things are going to be
off-kilter and not according to the rules, were out. We didnt cheat at
Xavier to get 6-foot-9 guys who were lottery picks, Brian Grant and Tyrone
Hill, so were not going to cheat for a 6-foot-5 excellent player.