By Jeffrey Bernstein 

Using the same motivation and determination that lifted him from a CBA player to an NBA All-Star, John Starks continues to utilize those characteristics to help young people reach their own goals and live their own dreams.

Since 1994, the year he made his All-Star appearance, Starks has devoted a great deal of time and energy to the John Starks Foundation, an organization he created that   provides academic scholarships to high school seniors who demonstrate academic excellence, financial need and a commitment to community service.

“My road wasn’t a normal road,” Starks said. “I had to go a little tougher road than most guys who come through the ranks.” 

Indeed, Starks was ignored in the 1988 NBA draft following his college career at Oklahoma State University. He signed as a free agent with the Golden State Warriors, but by the following season he was playing for the Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets of the Continental Basketball Association and then the Memphis Rockers of the World Basketball League. 

“You think about how hard you have to work to get to where you want to go and how blessed you are to do something you love and get paid for it,” Starks explained. “It’s gratifying knowing that you can help an individual achieve something in life and maybe make the world a better place,”

The foundation awards as many as 15 “3-Point Scholarships” each year to tri-state and Tulsa, Oklahoma-area students who might not have the opportunity to attend college without financial assistance. Using funds raised through such events as celebrity golf tournaments, casino nights and basketball camps - as well as from private contributions - the foundation distributes anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000 per year.

 “We go through anywhere from 250-300 essays from potential recipients and narrow that down to about 30,” revealed Starks, a Tulsa native who holds the Knicks’ record with 982 three-pointers. “We then invite those 30 kids in for one-on-one sessions and get them to talk about themselves and what they want to do with their lives. We then make a judgment on who we think will be the most successful.” 

One of the recipients, Andrea DiMarco, is now a sophomore business and marketing major at Montclair State University.

It is stories like this that keep Starks focused on the task of giving young people the opportunity to reach their potential.

“I remember one young lady who was going through some family trouble and we were able to help her,” Starks recalls. “Well, several years later I was in Dallas for a game when I was playing for Utah. She came up to me and introduced herself as one of our scholarship recipients and said that she had just graduated. The fact that despite personal problems she was able to stay focused and graduate is what this is all about.”

Staying focused on a task was a concept that Starks brought with him to the foundation. It was that same focus and persistence that was rewarded when the Knicks signed him in 1990 as a free agent, beginning an eight-year stint with the team. His hard-nose style of play made him beloved by New York fans, as did his dunk over Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the 1993 playoffs. That iconic moment in franchise (and NBA playoff) history, as well as his All-Defensive Team honor in 1992-93 and his Sixth Man Award in 1996-97, helped clinch his popularity as a Knick.

“John’s tenacious work ethic and fearless, hell-bent style personifies New York, and the fans love him for that,” said Walt “Clyde” Frazier, arguably the most popular Knick of all-time. “I didn’t realize how popular he was until I used to make my appearances. You know how many girls kissed me and said to give it to John?”

Frazier is impressed by the way Starks made it big in New York and is now successfully running the foundation.

“It is a testament to John’s character, to give back and to show a concern for others,” Frazier said. “He relied on a lot of people to get where he is, and he’s compelled to give something back. I mean, he wasn’t drafted, came up the hard way, and then to do what he’s done is remarkable.”

Those students who have benefited from what Starks and his foundation have accomplished, wholeheartedly agree.

“The John Starks Foundation has created a brighter future for college-bound high school students,” DiMarco stressed. “We are the future…and without an education it will be very challenging for us to be the best we can be.” Starks made sure that he was the best he could be as a player. He continues to use that same energy with the foundation.

“We’ve been fortunate to have good students who have really taken hold of their lives and pushed forward,” Starks said. “It warms my heart to think that this is what it’s all about.”