Isiah Thomas believes he would have never survived the rough streets of Chicago's West Side without the love and guidance of his mother, Mary. Yesterday, Thomas praised Donald Marbury for providing the same care for his family.
"You have to respect any family that raised kids under the conditions they raised kids under," Thomas said of the late Marbury family patriarch. "I know what my mom went through, and I know what they went through. It's hard keeping a family together, particularly a large family, under such poverty sometimes. They did an exceptional job."
The funeral for Stephon Marbury's father will be held today in the same Coney Island neighborhood where Marbury grew up to become a New York playground legend and an NBA All-Star. Donald Marbury died Sunday night after complaining of chest pains while watching the Knicks play the Phoenix Suns.
Thomas and the Knicks will board a bus Thursday morning in Westchester to attend the funeral. Later in the day they are scheduled to travel to Philadelphia for Friday's game against the Sixers. (...)
