The only pair of Michael Jordan sneakers I ever owned were the all-white, cement-gray Air Jordan III. There was no way my parents could afford a pair of $100 sneakers in 1988, and even if they did they would have laughed at the idea. But through success on asphalt near San Francisco’s Pier 39 with some buddies at a 3-on-3-basketball tournament, I was able to win a free pair of size 15s that I wore proudly like a rapper wears a platinum chain today.

It was amazing how just a pair of shoes brought confidence and made me look cool. It was a swagger I couldn’t afford then and would feel foolish paying for now. But because of the vision of New York Knicks guard Stephon Marbury , any kid can have that same swagger today for just $14.99 in a pair of Starbury’s.

“We are allowing kids to become more educated,” Marbury said. “Through this world of trying to live an exclusive life, kids are being lost in translation. Kids are not allowing themselves to see the big picture. And the big picture is not having a $200 pair of sneakers when your mother’s income is $15,000 to $20,000.”

My days of Air Jordan, the Converse Weapon and the Reebok Pump are recalled fondly in the shoe industry. Today’s youth want to wear LeBron James's Nikes, Dwyane Wade's Converse and Carmelo Anthony's Jordan Jumpman sneakers. What hasn’t changed is the price as the marquee footwear runs over $100.

Marbury can afford any sneaker he wants and then some with a salary of $17 million with the Knicks this season. But that was not the case when he was growing up in the projects of Coney Island. So Marbury wanted to develop a cool, affordable shoe and clothing that wasn’t available to him during his youth.

Through Steve and Barry's University Sportswear stores, Marbury has a new line called Starbury's that sells shoes and athletic wear for less than $15. The shoe was designed by Rocket Fish, a company in Portsmouth, N.H., run by two former Nike and Fila employees with more than 20 years of experience designing shoes. Marbury is wearing his Starbury’s in games for the Knicks and promises that they will feel just as good as hoop sneakers that cost $100 more.

“The sneakers don’t cost $100 to make,” Marbury said. “If you don’t know that and you don’t understand that, it’s hard for you to grasp how much the shoe costs. It costs less than $14.98 to make a $150 shoe. That’s not what people are being told.”

So what is the Starbury doing to keep their shoes so much cheaper than Nikes, Converse, adidas and Reebok?

Steve & Barry’s is paying Marbury an undisclosed amount per shoe sold, not millions of dollars up front to a star player. There is no major ad campaign for the Starbury’s on television or in magazines like you see for LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. Instead, Marbury went on a 24-city, 20-day caravan to “spread the love among those kids and parents who want to join the Starbury Movement” after the shoes went on sale Aug. 17.

The two-time NBA all-star is also doing countless media interviews, including an appearance on 'Regis & Kelly.' The shoes also can only be purchased at Steve & Barry’s shoes and not any other shoe store or online. The Starbury's Two is in the works along with women’s products.

“It’s not something that you think of in a basketball sense. And that’s what I’ve been trying to get people to understand,” Marbury said. “This is more about life ... This is about people who couldn’t afford anything. Now they have the opportunity to buy a lot of things.” While on the preseason tour, Marbury said mothers hugged and kissed him on the cheek in appreciation for making shoes that are affordable, but not laughable.

“My teammates didn’t believe me when I told them the price,” Montbello High School (Colo.) senior forward Anthony Porch said. “Only some did. But most didn’t and I told them the price was for real. They’re cheap. They need to multiply that price. It’s too good of a shoe, really. You would expect a shoe of that price to be sold at the corner store.”

It’s that mentality that Marbury hopes to change. Today’s youth is so brainwashed that they believe paying a c-note and more for shoes, clothes or some gaudy chain equals to feeling better about yourself. I too felt I could fly with a pair of Air Jordan’s on. But the truth was, I could dunk back then because I am 6-foot-6 and worked on my game.

But no Mars Blackman. Money, it’s not the shoes (kids ask your parents if that doesn’t make sense). Shoes can’t make you run faster or jump higher. It’s the person inside those shoes that can. And hopefully thanks to the Starbury, kids will learn that being cool shouldn’t come with a price tag. Being cool and confident needs to come from within and doesn’t cost over $100.