Marbury.

If you know pro basketball, you know the name,Stephon Marbury was a three-time NBA all star who played with five teams before taking his game to China, where he has won two championships in the past three years playing for the Beijing Ducks.At Pleasant Valley High School, students know the Marbury name as Eric, a senior point guard who plays for the Bears' basketball team.Few people may know, however, that Eric Marbury is Stephon's nephew."I knew growing up that I had a high standard to play up to because of my uncle," said Eric. "That's all fine with me. In fact, it motivates me to play the best that I can because that's how my uncle plays."Growing up in Coney Island, Eric began his basketball experience at six years old playing in tournaments sponsored by his Uncle Stephon, who at that time played for the New Jersey Nets."I was a huge fan of my uncle and went to all his games," said Eric. "Especially later on when he was with the Knicks."Eric recalls one particular game when Stephon played head to head against Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers."Iverson finished with 40 points while Stephon scored 33, but it was my uncle's pass to Nate Robinson for a jump shot at the buzzer that won the game for the Knicks," Eric said.When he was 10 years old, Eric and his family moved from New York to the Pleasant Valley School District. He was enrolled in Pius X High School in Bangor where he excelled in both football and basketball. In fact, Marbury was a three-year starter at point guard for the Royals and in his junior season, he led his team to the second round of the state playoffs. When the season ended, however, he felt he needed a new motivation and a new direction for his senior year, which resulted in a transfer to Pleasant Valley."I loved the new challenge and I am content with the decision to come to Pleasant Valley," said Marbury. "I wanted to prove to myself that I could play anywhere and be successful.""Of course we were happy to get Eric," said Pleasant Valley coach Matt Gould. "I wish he was a sophomore so we could have him for more than one year."Gould describes Marbury's skill set as all inclusive. Calling him an excellent ball handler with a great outside shot, a solid defender, and someone who has a knack for getting his teammates involved in the offensive attack."Eric knows what it takes to win," said Gould. "If he gets doubled, he will pass to the open man, and since he can create a shot off the dribble, we like him to have the ball with the game on the line.""I live for the last second shot," said Marbury.Against East Stroudsburg South earlier this season, the Bears fell behind by 20 points before "something clicked" in Marbury. His 22-point performance lifted his team's comeback."I got the ball with seconds to go and dribbled down for a pull up jumper, something I practice everyday," said Marbury. "I hit the shot at the buzzer and we won 61-59.""He's all business on the court, but in the locker room, Eric can be jokester," said Gould. "He keeps everybody loose.""I pride myself on the high standards set by my family," Marbury said. "I will always do the extra needed to be successful."Marbury's biggest fans are his mother and father who always encourage him, no matter how he is playing."They tell me to always keep my head up, play harder, get better, and good things will happen," he said." So I don't get myself down for too long because I always come around and get my game back to where I want it to be."After high school, Marbury says he will go anywhere there is an opportunity to play.And if his goal to play basketball at the college level is attained, Eric Marbury will likely be in the front of his team's success and add another star to his already famous last name.**********COACHING MILESTONES ... Panther Valley's Pat Crampsie reached a milestone in Tuesday's victory over Pine Grove. The game was the 300th in his coaching career at PV. No one has coached more games in the school's history. Lehighton's Rich Oertner recently reached 350 games (he now has 352) as head coach, although his total has come at two different schools. The longtime mentor was at Northern Lehigh for 260 games and has been in charge of the Indians for the past 92 games.**********THREE-POINT RECORD ... The Lehighton boys basketball team recently set a school record for three-pointers made in a season. In the Indians' game against Blue Mountain on Jan. 30 they passed the old mark of 140, which was set during the 1996-97 campaign. Currently, Lehighton has 157 treys. That is the fifth most ever in Times News history. The most in one season belongs to Marian's 2000-01 squad, which drained 193 shots from beyong the arc.**********WINNING STREAKS ... The Pleasant Valley girls basketball team looked to be all but eliminated from postseason play on Jan. 16 when they lost to East Stroudsburg North. After the defeat, the Bears saw their record drop to 4-10. Since that time, though, Nadia Gauronsky's team has reeled off six straight victories to even their mark at 10-10. PV now needs to win one of its final two games to clinch a District 11 playoff berth.**********RECORD BREAKING ... On Thursday, Jan. 29 Macey Markovich of Panther Valley drained three three-pointers against Pottsville. With the treys, the sharpshooter set a new girls school record for three-pointers in a season. Markvovich passed Dana McFadden's old mark of 48. For the season, Markovich now has 55 three-pointers. Ironically, the senior only has three two-point field goals this season.**********A GRAND PRIZE ... Marian's Abbey Whildin joined the 1,000-point club during the Fillies' Schuylkill League win over Weatherly last Thursday on "Senior Night". Whildin scored 19 points in the victory and became the 20th girl to reach 1,000 points while wearing a Marian uniform.**********JUST IN TIME ... On Jan. 28 the Pleasant Valley boys' basketball team defeated East Stroudsburg North in thrilling fashion, 61-59. The Bears trailed by 20 points after three quarters, but outscored the Timberwolves by a 36-14 margin in the fourth frame. Eric Marbury scored a team-high 22 points. Marbury's performance included a buzzer-beating jumper as time expired that earned the Bears the EPC victory.