NEW YORK, June 16, 2007 -- Upon entering the Surfside Gardens court amidst a sea of handshakes and hugs -- not to mention innumerable kisses for the children literally hanging off of him -- New York Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury announced a major initiative at the Opening Ceremonies of his 12th Annual Basketball Classic on Coney Island.

Using the profits from his super-popular $14.98 Starbury sneakers and upcoming series of children’s books, Marbury will donate $1 million each to New York City police, firefighters, EMS, and teachers. “Being able to help those programs that would allow EMS to hire 2-3 more people, if it save more lives, I’m down for that,” he said. “As far as making a difference in that manner, I feel compelled to do that.”

“After 9-11, and all the families that have lost loved ones, it was a big hit to the City,” said Marbury. “And to the world. This is basically about giving back. We’re home to do that because there’s only so much you can have. I feel like the wealth should be spread among, well, everyone.”

“I’m happy,” added Marbury. “There’s nothing better than being happy and having peace of mind. It’s great be in a situation where I can do things such as this, trying to make sure that we help people who need help. Giving the money to the teachers is important because those are the people who are allowing our children a better understanding, feeding them their foundation. When I hear about budget cuts as far as schools, I just don’t understand that. I mean, not when we’re trying to allow our kids to become the leaders of the world!”

“I want to create an environment where all of our schools prepare kids to go to places such as Harvard and Yale.”

As another branch on that same educational tree, Marbury has added a reading component to his annual hoops classic. Teaming up with the Brooklyn Public Library, he has all the kids participating read three books -- including one on the BPL’s summer reading list -- and to write an essay on one of them. “Growing up, when I didn’t do my school work, I wasn’t allowed to play ball,” he recalled with a smile. ”It was the best motivation.”

Over 600 kids ages 8-19 from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are participating in this year’s tournament. “During the past 11 years, we’ve had 11,000 children playing here,” said Marbury. “Including quite a few future pros. Coney Island may be a small place but it has some big talent.”

And so do the Knicks – playoff caliber talent, according to Marbury. “We could take that next step, a hundred per cent,” he said. “By playing under Isiah Thomas for one year, it gives us stability and an understanding how we have to play with each other. Now we understand the level we need to play at in order to reach our goals and how hard we must go.”

“I like our team,” added Marbury. “I like how we play, I like the way we fit. I like the way Mardy Collins performed at the end of last year. He was a rookie and we asked him to play the hardest position, point guard, in such a short time frame. It was remarkable.”

Given decent health, “a playoff goal is very achievable”, according to Marbury, with the current roster. And what if a miracle, one that looks very much like Kobe Bryant, arrives from the West Coast? “I’m not opposed to it,” Marbury said with a laugh. “I want to be clear-cut. I’m not opposed to it.”