Brooklyn teen has NBA-caliber pedigree

Victoria Sun

Thursday, July 26, 2001 | 11:02 a.m.

His cousin is Phoenix Suns point guard Stephon Marbury and one of his older brothers, Jamel Thomas, played four years at Providence College and is currently on the New Jersey Nets' roster.

But one day, Lincoln High School sophomore to be Sebastian Telfair may outshine them both.

Telfair, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is playing for the Juice All Stars in the adidas Big Time Basketball Tournament, which concludes Sunday.

Standing 5-foot-11, the 16-year-old point guard already has college coaches and Internet basketball gurus drooling over his myriad skills. Telfair has incredible court vision, excellent passing skills and consistently makes 3-pointers.

"I've had it all my life," Telfair said of his talent after his team beat Cleveland BBall 17's, 87-82 in overtime. "This is all hard work.

"Growing up seeing my brother Jamel and my cousin Stephon play, it just came to me."

If Telfair comes across as arrogant, he doesn't mean it.

It's just that explaining why or how he is so good at his age isn't easy.

Telfair's older brother, Dan Turner, started him playing basketball when he was 5.

Turner recognized Telfair's athletic gifts almost immediately.

"I saw something in him so I started letting him play with the older kids," Turner said. "When he was 6, he was playing with the 12-and-under kids.

"When he was 12, he was playing with the 16-and-under and now he plays with 22-and-under guys. He does have a special talent, but he works hard. A lot of kids out there think that it's easy being No. 1. It's hard. He works very, very, very hard on his game."

Telfair may not have an NBA body yet, but his face resembles that of Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce.

The first thing that stands out when you see him handle the ball is the way he makes smart decisions, as if he's a steady veteran, not an out-of-control teenager.

Telfair expects to grow at least five more inches and many coaches are hoping he'll fit nicely into one of their uniforms.

Several scouting services have him rated the best sophomore player and point guard in the country. Others feel he could contribute to a college team immediately.

Three years from now, the only question will be whether he can resist going to the NBA straight out of high school.

"I know I'm going to go to college, but I'm not sure which college I'm going to go to," he said. "I feel that college basketball is one of the greatest four years of your career. I was there when my brother played at Providence College and I saw all the good things that happened to him, all the things he achieved, so I want to do that too."