By Jamie Plaisance

POINT GUARD STEPHON MARBURY spent only one season at Georgia Tech, deciding to become a sophmore in the NBA instead. But the lessons he learned last year have laid the groundwork for a strong second season for the floor leader of the Timberwolves.The last time Stephon Marbury was in this position - a sophomore - he was just 15 years old. Before he had his driver's license, the Timberwolves' point guard was preparing for his sophomore season with Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. The only driving Marbury was doing was down the lane.

Stephon Marbury has risen quickly through the basketball ranks.

Still, he might as well have been in a Ferrari. He was as hard to stop, and almost as fast.

As a ninth-grader, Marbury took over the reins of the Lincoln squad - one of the best high school teams in the nation. His team featured established stars, but while Marbury was the new kid on the block, he was far from an unknown.

Stephon's older brothers, Donnie and Eric, were former Lincoln standouts. Both went on to play college ball. Stephon was supposed to be better. Even when he gathered with the best players in Coney Island, Marbury's decrepit neighborhood, Stephon ruled the blacktop with innocent confidence. He was not afraid to tell anyone who would listen, "I'm going to be an NBA star." Most people agreed.

As the former Lincoln and Georgia Tech star begins his sophomore campaign in the NBA, he harkens back to his days in high school. He spent just one year in college, so tenth grade was the last time he returned from a rookie season.

"I'm a lot more mature now," Marbury said when comparing himself to Stephon of five years ago. "Life took its course. My lifestyle is totally different now. I got here with my family and the help of God."

Marbury had yearned to reach the league since as far back as he can recall. His older brothers were supposed to get here, but they fell short. Stephon had the weighty hopes of an entire family, an entire downtrodden neighborhood, riding on his youthful shoulders. That is why he cried with his family on draft day. He reached the peak of the mountain he had been climbing since birth.

That does not mean, however, that Marbury is no longer scaling heights. He has simply moved to a different Mount Everest. Rather, Mount NBA.

Clearly, Marbury has the tools to get to the summit. After all, he took the Wolves to the Summitt - in Houston. Last season, Minnesota qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, opening at Houston's arena. Prior to Marbury's arrival, the moribund Timberwolves went just 26-56. In Year One of the Marbury Era, Minnesota compiled a 40-42 mark.

Although he is listed at 6-2, Marbury is probably closer to 6-0. No matter. He is the quickest player this side of Allen Iverson. And despite making a greater difference in his team's fortune, Marbury finished second to the 76ers' point guard in last season's Rookie of the Year voting.

Just two years before his first pro season, Marbury was a senior at Lincoln. Yet the Coney Island hot dog averaged 15.8 points and 7.8 assists per game in the NBA last season. On top of that, Marbury led the Timberwolves with 102 three-pointers.

This time around, Marbury carries a greater burden. He's no longer a rookie, and no one will utter the "He's a rookie," excuses. With a year under his belt, the floor general is expected to take a heightened leadership role. Marbury can be forgiven if he was a tad starstruck a year ago. Now, he is all business.

"Last year was a great experience," Marbury said of reaching his lifelong goal. "It was all that I imagined, but it took even more energy than I thought [it would]. Having a year behind me makes a huge difference. I have more of an understanding for the game, and I'm mentally tougher." Now, Marbury is comfortable. He has settled into his environment.

He knows his teammates, coaches and even himself much better. He is more familiar with the Twin Cities, the media and the rest of the league.

"I accepted the role last year of being a leader on the floor," Marbury said without hesitation. "This year, I'm more at ease. I worked [this summer] real hard. I ran, lifted [weights] and worked on my jumpshot. Now, I feel like I have to be a leader on and off the court for this team."

Although just a second-year player, Marbury is already rated among the top ten NBA point guards. His first All-Star Game is just a matter of time. If Marbury were to be named to the showcase this February, it would be as poetic as a Robert Frost penning. The game will be held in Manhattan's Madison Square Garden, just across the East River from Marbury's Brooklyn home. After spending a year in Atlanta, and nearly two more in Minneapolis, that would certainly be the climax of Marbury's young but storied hoops career.

Watching him on the court, it is easy to see why Marbury has been followed so closely by success. His rare combination of mesmerizing ball control and flash-point quickness is paralleled only by Iverson's. Still, last season was something of a lesson for him. At Lincoln, Marbury was called on to run the fast break and score. At Georgia Tech, in his one-year stint, Marbury was again more of a scoring guard. (In fact, despite starting at point guard, he was only second on the Yellow jackets in assists.)

But under Timberwolves Head Coach Flip Saunders, himself a former one guard, Marbury has been asked to distribute first. While Iverson had free rein in Philadelphia, scoring 23.5 points per game, the former Georgetown All-America averaged fewer assists (7.5) and committed more turnovers (337 to 210) than his rookie counterpart, Marbury.

This is precisely why Saunders and Vice President Kevin McHale traded Andrew Lang and Ray Allen to Milwaukee as Marbury's eyes were still drying on draft day. The New York product is a dynamic point guard, something the franchise had lacked. Pooh Richardson, Minnesota's loveable but unfulfilling first-ever draft choice, was the closest the Wolves had come to a game-breaking floor leader. And Marbury is all of that and much more.

Marbury's nonpareil shiftiness on the Brooklyn blacktops gained him canonic status in New York City. His is the second-most ballyhooed guard to come from the Big Apple, following closely behind Archbishop Malloy's Kenny Anderson from Queens - the Portland Trail Blazers' starter at the point.

That legendary quickness should be highlighted this season. With the NBA's three-point line moved back to 23 feet, nine inches, opposing defenses will be spread out farther. Consequently, Marbury will have more room to maneuver.

"It's better for me," Marbury said of the rule change. "You can penetrate better with the defense moved out. And if guys back down, you can shoot over them easier. But I'm still focused on running our offense."

In that comment, one can read a lot into Marbury. He salivates when speaking about breaking down a defender. A smile slices across his face when he imagines a defender's futile efforts. At heart, though, Marbury is a team man - the court general of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Maybe he has grown into that role; but then, again, has always been a team player - a family man. That is why he cried.

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