Rick Barry

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Rick Barry

Position	Forward
Height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg)
Nationality	United States
Born	March 28, 1944 Elizabeth, New Jersey
High school	Roselle Park High School (Roselle Park, New Jersey)
College	University of Miami
Draft	4th overall, 1965 San Francisco Warriors
Pro career	1965 – 1979
Former teams	San Francisco Warriors 1965-1966 Oakland Oaks 1968 Washington Caps 1969 New York Nets 1970-1971 Golden State Warriors 1972-1977 Houston Rockets 1978-1979
Awards	Associated Press First-Team All-America (1965) The Sporting News All-America Second Team (1965) Consensus All-America (1965) NBA Rookie of the Year (1966) NBA leading scorer in 1967 (35.6 ppg) ABA leading scorer in 1969 (34.0 ppg) NBA highest free-throw percentage 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980 ABA highest free-throw percentage 1969, 1971, 1972 NBA All-Star Game MVP (1967) All-NBA Second Team (1973) NBA Finals MVP (1975) All-NBA First Team (1966, 1967, 1974, 1975, 1976) Eight time NBA All-Star (1966, 1967, 1973-78) ABA All-Star First Team (1969-72) NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996)

Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944 in Elizabeth, New Jersey), is a former American professional basketball player, remembered for his sharpshooting, his excellent passing, his tenacious and quarrelsome spirit and his odd-looking but superbly accurate style of underhand free throw shooting.

Barry was an All-Pro forward for the Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1965-1979.

Named one of the 50 Greatest Players ever by the NBA, Barry is still considered one of the best forwards in history. He is the only player in history to have led the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), ABA and NBA in scoring for an individual season.

[edit] University of Miami career

Barry played at the University of Miami in the early-mid 1960s, where he led the NCAA in scoring. He is one of just two players (along with Tim James) to have his number retired by the Hurricanes.

[edit] Professional career

The 6'7" Barry won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after averaging 25.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in the 1965-66 season. The following year, he won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award with a 38 point outburst, and led the NBA in scoring with a 35.6 point per game average — still the eighth highest scoring average in NBA history. Teamed with star center Nate Thurmond in San Francisco, Barry helped take the San Francisco Warriors to the NBA Finals that same season, where they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in spite of Barry's 40.8 point per game average in the series. Angered at not receiving incentive monies he felt owed for these feats from San Francisco manager Al Bianchi, Barry sat out his next season and jumped to the ABA for a much larger contract.

Barry starred in the rival league, twice averaging over 30 points per game, and he led the Oakland Oaks to the league championship in the 1968-1969 season. Barry was already a controversial figure in the NBA for his outspoken ways, and controversy followed him to the ABA. He was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in a Virginia Squires jersey, saying he wouldn't return to the NBA if the league paid him "a million dollars a year." Soon he then denounced the Squires, saying he did not want his kids growing up with a southern accent. He was soon traded to the New York Nets, before changing his mind about the NBA and returning to the Warriors in 1972.

In 1975, he had a magical season. Barry averaged 30.6 points per game, led the league in both free throw percentage and steals per game, and ranked sixth in the NBA in assists per game. In the post-season, he led the now-Golden State Warriors to the NBA championship in a four game sweep over the favored Washington Bullets and was named Finals MVP. The following year, the 59-23 Warriors were upset in the playoffs by the sub-.500 Phoenix Suns. In 1977, they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round.

Rick Barry was traded to the Houston Rockets in return for John Lucas. Now in the twilight of his career, he averaged a modest 13.5 points. He did set a new NBA record (since broken), however, by posting a 94.7 free throw percentage for the season. He retired in 1980.

During the 1990s he coached the Cedar Rapids Sharpshooters of the Global Basketball Association^[1] and the Continental Basketball Association, guiding the Fort Wayne Fury to a 19-37 win-loss record in 1993-94.

[edit] Broadcasting

Controversial and outspoken, Barry continues to work in the field of broadcasting, a career he began after retiring from pro basketball (first with CBS while still an active player and then with TBS).

As an announcer for TBS, Barry helped call the 1987 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. During that contest, he called one of Michael Jordan's dunks a "Chinese Superman". When asked what that meant, he replied, "It's because it had a slant to it." Barry was not disciplined for his remarks.

Until August 2006, Barry broadcast on KNBR-AM in San Francisco, California, a role he held from 2001 ^[2]. He co-hosted a talk show with Rod Brooks.

Barry recently finished 2nd in his division at the 2005 World Long Drive Championship ^[3].

[edit] Basketball career

• Roselle Park High School - Roselle Park, New Jersey (1957-61)
  • Two-time All-State selection
• University of Miami (1961-65)
  • Associated Press First-Team All-America (1965)
  • The Sporting News All-America Second Team (1965)
  • Consensus All-America (1965)
  • Led the nation in scoring (37.4 ppg) as a senior
• NBA San Francisco Warriors (1965-67)
  • NBA Rookie of the Year (1966)
  • NBA leading scorer in 1967 (35.6 ppg)
  • ABA leading scorer in 1969 (34.0 ppg)
  • NBA highest free-throw percentage 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980
  • ABA highest free-throw percentage 1969, 1971, 1972
  • NBA All-Star Game MVP (1967)
• ABA Oakland Oaks (1968-69)
• ABA Washington Capitals (1969-70)
• ABA New York Nets (1970-72)
• NBA Golden State Warriors (1972-78)
  • All-NBA Second Team (1973)
  • NBA Finals MVP (1975)
• NBA Houston Rockets (1978-79)

• All-NBA First Team (1966, 1967, 1974, 1975, 1976)
• Eight time NBA All-Star (1966, 1967, 1973-78)
• ABA All-Star First Team (1969-72)
• NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996)

[edit] Basketball blood

Rick Barry has four sons, Scooter, Drew, Jon, Brent, all of whom are or have been professional basketball players.

With his son Brent winning the NBA Championship in 2005 with the San Antonio Spurs, Rick and Brent have become only the second father-son duo to both win NBA Championships as players; the first was Matt Guokas, Sr. and his son, Matt Guokas, Jr.

[edit] See also

• List of National Basketball Association players with 60 or more points in a game

[edit] External links

• Rick Barry profile at Basketball Hall of Fame.
• Rick Barry profile at NBA.com.
• Rick Barry and Rod Brooks Home Page at KNBR Radio.
• Rick Barry Career Statistics.
• "Rick Barry out at KNBR; Split is Friendly, Contra Costa Times.