Feet First Part 1

My number one goal for shopping at Grove City a couple weeks back was to cop a pair of Stephon Marbury’s Starbury kicks. I’ve heard a little bit of hype around them and wanted to check them out. Priced at only $15USD, how could I NOT get them? These are the actual shoes he’ll be wearing this season!

When I hit Steve and Barry’s (the only place you can get the shoes) I noticed that not only did Marbury have his basketball shoe, but an entire line of gear for the amazingly low price of $9.98USD!!! He’s got it all: casual walking shoes, hoodies & jackets, ball jerseys & shorts, warm up gear even denim jackets and jeans! All for $9.98! And the reason? He wanted to get out a clothing line that the less fortunate could afford, yet still shine in. Despite what Shaun thinks, poor people should be able to afford nice clothes too and from what I saw, everything looked great. Props to Marbury for this one!

Anyways, I grabbed two pairs of ball shoes. The home pair of New York Knicks white, orange and blue and the away versions – black, orange and blue. They’re not light, but definitely not heavy. I’d say they’re just a touch heavier than my current ball shoes, the And1 Low Rise’s. Visually, they look nice. I like them. Nice and simple. Clean looking. Great design. The workmanship feels a touch cheap, but for the price, I can’t really complain.

The real test though, was using them in a game. I was initially concerned with the grip since they didn’t look too deep. When I was playing, I found that they were slippery. (I should mention though that the gym I play in only gets cleaned twice a year. Summer and Christmas break. So it was dusty as hell in there. But I should also menition that I never have a problem making/sticking cuts in my Low Rises) The sole felt very ‘plasticy’ – which isn’t good. It’s as if they didn’t want to bend. I noticed when I ran, it was very “flop flop flop”ish. I’m also spoiled by my And1’s heels. They have their shoes rounded in the back which I really love. The Starbury’s are like every other shoe where it’s just a straight cut. And like any new shoe, these bitches gave me a WICKED blister on my achiles!

I guess it’s not really fair comparing them to a shoe I really like, but they’ve got quite a bit to live up to. Despite the initial poor impressions, I’m gonna give the Starbury’s next after my And1’s conk out. But I think overall they’re a decent shoe, especially at the price point!