It’s March 1994 and the biggest thing going in NYC at the time was Felipe Lopez. The Rice star has been talked about forever as the city’s best player. No small honor in this town where basketball reigns supreme. Well, by the look of how dreadful things are now with the Knicks, Nets and St. John’s, it’s not even close to what it once was.

The enthusiastic kid from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic made huge news when he decided to stay home and play at St. John’s setting off a tremendous celebration here. It’s ashame the overexposure became too much for Lopez, who dominated one of the toughest leagues bar none. He still went onto a solid four-year career with the Redmen but never untapped the potential so many predicted for him.

Consistency just wasn’t there, especially from the perimeter. He could get to the basket like few others. Truthfully, the pressure was too much as Lopez was expected to be the savior at St. John’s bringing them back to the glory days of Xaverian product Chris Mullin, Walter Berry and Mark Jackson from legendary former coach Lou Carnesecca’s only Final Four team in 1985 when they lost to Patrick Ewing and John Thompson’s Hoyas back when that was the best rivalry in college hoops going.

On this same night, Georgetown is fresh off a Final Four appearance and humiliating Norm Roberts’ team at Madison Square Garden where at last check it was the Hoyas leading 62-26. Yes. That was the actual score. A far cry from what one of the biggest games in the Big East used to be. Just goes to the huge difference between the two programs.

Maybe St. John’s had it good when a big star from current coach Maurice Hicks’ Rice program chose to play for their school. We just never realized it at the time how rare that would actually become.

I’ll tell you what I remember about that great championship game between archrivals Rice and St. Raymond’s, who were led by an electrifying guard by the name of Kareem Reid. He later starred at the University of Arkansas. The atmosphere at Fordham was unbelievable. You had kids hawking Rice t-shirts outside the gym for 10 a pop. To this day, I still have it. It had the entire roster including Lopez along with former Seton Hall star Gary Saunders.

They also had Rice team posters which included a much slimmer Shaq standing next to Lopez in the photo. A collector’s item now. That’s how superhyped he was. The Next Great One.

Ah. If only it had had that classic ending fit for a Hollywood script. Few players we follow from the very beginning turn out that way. That’s why you got to appreciate the Michael Jordan’s, Kobe’s and LeBron’s. Cause they’re few and far between.

If you love packed gyms with chaotic atmosphere, then this CHSAA championship between Rice and St. Raymond’s was your cup of tea. How unique is this neighborhood rivalry in Upper Manhattan? They’re only going to be playing in front of another packed Fordham gym on Friday afternoon. Tickets are five bucks. Well worth the admission.

If only I didn’t have a couple of games to score at Berkeley Carroll in Park Slope. Who am I kidding? I love those games. The kids treat you with respect as do the coaches and athletic director. It’s fun to be associated with such a well run organization. They make it so easy to pull for them. Let’s also be honest. Park Slope isn’t Staten Island and that even includes some of the better parts out here. Anytime I can go to a nice area such as that, Brooklyn Heights or the Upper West Side, I’m there.

Anyway, I haven’t really talked about how good a championship game this was. Back and forth at a frenetic pace on a great court with oooohh’s and ahhhh’s when Reid went to his killer crossover and sliced and diced the Rice D. Oh. This kid was special. He’s a legend. He had one of the best handles. Period.

Reid wasn’t big but rather one of those slick undersized classic New York point guards who could breakdown defenses by using his superior ballhandling skills to get into the lane and find open teammates. He also could knock it down from the outside if you backed off him. He was trying to help St. Ray’s repeat as league champions. In 1993, they won both the city and state titles.

I’ll tell ya what else was cool. Rice had a kid named Scientific Mapp. Yes. That’s what his name was. He was a slick PG who helped run Rice’s offense around Lopez and Saunders. Both had solid all around games in helping their school edge St. Raymond’s in a barn burner. If I remember correctly, they won by one point with Reid’s 75-foot prayer going off the rim as the buzzer sounded. Lopez was lifted up by teammates afterwards during a triumphant celebration for gaining a measure of revenge against the same Reid-led team which edged them 71-69 the month before.

It was Saunders who paced Rice in the game. He was their most poised player. Maybe that should’ve sounded the alarms about whether Lopez would project.

Tell ya something else. Mapp’s younger brother who went on to star for St. Raymond’s was named Majestic. What’s in a name anyway? He became a McDonald’s All-American and went to Virginia where he played for a year. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL during a pickup game which derailed his career. His amazing rehab and story of a comeback at the University of West Georgia (Div. II) is worth the read. It exemplifies how dedicated he was. Here’s one excerpt:

“Basically, I had one surgery, and from there it went downhill,” he said. “I rehabbed and it never got better. I don’t know what the cause was, but it was just bad. I don’t know. I don’t like to point fingers. I just say that God made me have five surgeries.“

I saw Majestic play and he was better than his brother and could’ve been a really good player at Virginia. Who knows how far his game would’ve taken him? It just goes to show how quick it can all fall apart. When it comes to injuries, you have to be really lucky.

Maybe that’s in God’s hands.

Coming next: Part IV

It’s 1993 and Stephon Marbury and the Lincoln Rail Splitters are getting ready for a big road game at New Utrecht. At the time, many basketball observers felt that Utrecht’s big center Kareem Lewis could be a factor in beating their Brooklyn rival.

There was even talk that Lewis and the Utes could win the PSAL that year. They had reached the semis the previous March before eventual champ Walton eliminated them. Maybe they shouldn’t have ever considered it because of what happened that cold December winter day.

Me and a few buddies had made the trip across the Verrazano once I got out of school to check out this big game. Like many, we were expecting to see a very competitive HS basketball game between the two schools. However, little did we realize what we and the rest of the observers at the packed old gym would be in store for that memorable day.

Bobby Hartstein’s Railsplitters were really good. They had been to the PSAL championship earlier that year only to lose to Walton in a tight game at Madison Square Garden with a broken hearted Marbury crying afterwards limping off the floor due to a fractured hip. I was in attendance for it. Back then, Coney Island’s Finest actually cared about winning championships. It’s amazing sometimes how things turn out. Especially with how it’s gone for Starbury in a Knick uniform.

Marbury was determined to bring the PSAL title back to Lincoln off the Ocean Parkway exit which ironically enough sat directly across from where my grandparents lived. So that was always pretty damn cool cause I’d be able to stop in their apartment and visit and have a nice meal afterwards.

That place for me as a kid was like a second home. My grandma always took me to the beach growing up and we’d frequently go to the supermarket and pickup fresh peaches and plums. The best!

Lincoln wasn’t just a one-man show that season. In our debut entry a week ago, we documented Marbury’s much overlooked cousin Jamel Thomas, who started at power forward and went onto a splendid four-year career at Providence becoming an All-Big East selection before going overseas after the NBA didn’t workout.

Thomas always had a nice inside game for an undersized 6-6 frame. He’d frequently battle bigger bodies and win his fair share due to a hard work ethic. He could score down in the low post and get his share of rebounds. He also was a solid defender. That day, he drew the tough assignment of the bigger Lewis but was up to the challenge bodying him up and keeping the New Utrecht senior center out of the paint.

If there also was an area he had improved, it was his ability to step out and make the open jump shot from 16-17 feet. That was on display the following season during Lincoln’s run to a PSAL title in 1994-95.

New Utrecht was an old barn where the baskets actually hung attached to old wires giving it a nostalgic feel. The atmosphere was great because you had seats facing the end basket on top of the action as well as balcony seats where fans could also stand and enjoy the game as well. Not surprisingly, the place was filled completely up. These were two Brooklyn teams who had made the Final Four back in March 1993. Many expected the schools to be at 33rd and Seventh for possibly a championship. Could this be a possible preview?

That’s what perked our curiosity. Being from Staten Island, the basketball wasn’t bad but the quality just couldn’t compete with what these schools offered. In terms of talent and athletic ability, it was no comparison. Even if solid programs such as Curtis and St. Peter’s ruled our borough, they weren’t on that level.

Like any kids growing up, we wanted to see the best players in the city. I don’t think I ever viewed it as, ‘Wow. He could one day be an NBA star.’ More like it was something to do. B-ball ruled! There was always something cool about checking out those type of games in a wild environment. I went to my share of games at Fordham during that time.

Being a travel basketball player out here helped. We had a very good team which won a couple of championships and competed at the Maccabiah Games. You always knew there were better players though. Especially at the HS level. I will say I played with some very smart players and the experience was just awesome much as it was running cross country at McKee/Staten Island Tech.

The level of excitement was always there no matter the sport. I loved running at both Clove Lakes and Van Cortlandt Park but the best was traveling to Penn or Brown. It was freaking kick ass. Kind of like some of our basketball trips which included Syracuse, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts to see the Basketball Hall of Fame. It didn’t matter what your role was because you felt part of something special.

That’s what T-E-A-M sports are all about.

Back to the game. Well, as you probably figured out by now, it wasn’t much of a contest as Thomas won the inside battle against Lewis who never found a rhythm. With the Railsplitters building a double digit lead, there was plenty of trash being dished out by Marbury. You could see how much the game meant to him and his teammates who would wind up making a statement blowing the doors off Utrecht in their own building.

With Thomas fairing well and Marbury having a stellar game in which he did whatever he wanted (score, dish, etc.), it felt pretty anti-climatic late in the fourth quarter. That’s when his cousin gave him the signal on an out of bounds play underneath the Utrecht basket on the opposite end. They were up by about 25. So the game was well at hand.

One of the things I liked about Thomas’ game is that he also was an underrated passer. He took out the ball frequently and made good passes finding open ‘mates. Here, he just put his index finger up which I noticed and thought was strange. Next thing I knew, a streaking Marbury went from about the free throw line taking off like Air Jordan catching a perfect lob and jamming it home for the exclamation point. As I described earlier, these were old baskets which were attached. So, the impact was unreal as it just shook all over.

Of course, everyone in the gym ate it up going, “Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!”

It was that freaking awesome. Maybe the much anticipated Lincoln-New Utrecht match-up didn’t live up to the hype but at the very least, Marbury and Thomas gave everyone in the place that day something to remember. To those who are into YouTube, etc., you didn’t need a camera or a camcorder. If you witnessed it live, it stuck with you. I can still see the fresh image clear as day like it just happened.

That’s what made going to that particular game so special.

Next: Part III of the untold saga

So you’re a New Yorker (New Yawww-kkkk—aaah) and you love watching good ‘ole fashioned b’ball. And no. To the outsiders who think it starts in the NBA or even college basketball baaaaaaabbbyyy, with apologies to ESPN’s Dick Vitale and CBS’/Knick excitable broadcaster Gus Johnson, that’s not where the saga begins for these players you come to appreciate.

It starts for these kids with hoop dreams of getting out of the inner ghetto. Ballin’ on the outdoor courts and practicing more than AI.

Basketball has been referred to as the city game here in NYC. We love our good ball. Though lately, there really isn’t a whole lot to cheer for as I’ve digressed in past entries in this space.

If you’re pondering where you can find a good game worth checking out, it’s at the high school level. Catholic city powers such as Rice and St. Raymond’s churn out future college stars who may or might not be good enough to make the NBA. There’s also public school power Lincoln which produced Coney Island’s Finest AKA Stephon Marbury.

His cousin Jamel Thomas could play a little too when they teamed up for a PSAL title in 1994-95. Thomas went onto a solid four-year career with Providence but never got his shot in David Stern’s league. It wasn’t because the older brother of ex-Railsplitter star Sebastien Telfair didn’t improve his game but cause he was a ‘tweener due to his 6-6 215 pound frame.

While at Providence, he developed into a solid forward who increased his scoring and rebounding averages every year finishing with 22.0 PPG and 7.3 RPG in his senior year grabbing All-Big East honors. Thomas worked on his outside shot which wasn’t really in his repertoire back in the ‘Splitter days. He could even step out and knock down the trifecta.

Problem was he couldn’t do it consistently and was undersized which probably was the biggest reason for not being able to stick in the NBA. He got into only 12 games with Boston, Golden State and the Nets before heading overseas. At last check, he starred for Beskitas Cola Turka in the Turkish League averaging close to 15-per-game in 2006-07.

I was able to track down a classic NCAA Tournament Elite 8 game between Providence and eventual 1997 champion Arizona in which Thomas nailed a trey from the left wing to force OT. Had another former NYC product God Shammgod (Shamgod Wells) not forced a jumper off a steal instead of taking the rock hard to the rim, maybe the Friars upset the Wildcats instead of falling in two overtimes to eventual NBA star guard Mike Bibby.

For more on Shammgod who came out of Providence too early playing just a couple of years, I discovered a good forum with discussion on the talented point guard with the killer crossover.

Don’t believe me? See for yourself.

Coming Next: More untold tales including some of NYC’s best that we caught