RIP: Dick Barnett

[Clyde_Style]

^^^ After the 74 playoffs not only Willis retired but Dave Debusschere and Jerry Lucas too. The frontcourt was gone. The old magic was never the same. The rest of the 70s management tried big names Spencer Haywood and Bob McAdoo but it didn't work. Tried to sign George McGinnis from the ABA against league rules, the commissioner shut that down. Replaced Red as coach with Willis, fired Willis and brought back Holzman. It was years before the team got competitive again.

Bob McAdoo was the Melo of his day. Led the league in scoring, but not a team building star.

Spencer was another slick top 10 scorer at one point, but he shoveled more snow up his nose than an avalanche in Aspen.

George would have been a good pick-up at that point in the mid-70s. Great PF who instead teamed up with Dr. J in Philly and almost won a chip, though Philly dumped him later on Denver for his unprofessional behavior.

The Knicks unraveled pretty quickly in the second half of the 70s.

In the 80s there was some entertainment with Hubie Brown and Rick Pitino coaching, but no true contention. We did, however, have some nice talent in our backcourt in Ray Williams and Micheal Richardson whom I still think of as the most talented PG in Knicks history, if not the best.

We did get the pleasure of watching the greatest offensive player in Knicks history in Bernard (yes, greater than Brunson) and he was so good he almost dragged us deeper into the playoffs, but the roster was not strong enough to get further.

And an honorable mention to Johnny Newman who would sometimes go completely bananas and score like crazy off the bench. He was a fun microwave player to watch when he was in the zone.

[thebuzzardman]

^^^ After the 74 playoffs not only Willis retired but Dave Debusschere and Jerry Lucas too. The frontcourt was gone. The old magic was never the same. The rest of the 70s management tried big names Spencer Haywood and Bob McAdoo but it didn't work. Tried to sign George McGinnis from the ABA against league rules, the commissioner shut that down. Replaced Red as coach with Willis, fired Willis and brought back Holzman. It was years before the team got competitive again.

Bob McAdoo was the Melo of his day. Led the league in scoring, but not a team building star.

Spencer was another slick top 10 scorer at one point, but he shoveled more snow up his nose than an avalanche in Aspen.

George would have been a good pick-up at that point in the mid-70s. Great PF who instead teamed up with Dr. J in Philly and almost won a chip, though Philly dumped him later on Denver for his unprofessional behavior.

The Knicks unraveled pretty quickly in the second half of the 70s.

In the 80s there was some entertainment with Hubie Brown and Rick Pitino coaching, but no true contention. We did, however, have some nice talent in our backcourt in Ray Williams and Micheal Richardson whom I still think of as the most talented PG in Knicks history, if not the best.

We did get the pleasure of watching the greatest offensive player in Knicks history in Bernard (yes, greater than Brunson) and he was so good he almost dragged us deeper into the playoffs, but the roster was not strong enough to get further.

And an honorable mention to Johnny Newman who would sometimes go completely bananas and score like crazy off the bench. He was a fun microwave player to watch when he was in the zone.

What, no love for Chris McNealy or Jawaan Oldham?

[Clyde_Style]

^^^ After the 74 playoffs not only Willis retired but Dave Debusschere and Jerry Lucas too. The frontcourt was gone. The old magic was never the same. The rest of the 70s management tried big names Spencer Haywood and Bob McAdoo but it didn't work. Tried to sign George McGinnis from the ABA against league rules, the commissioner shut that down. Replaced Red as coach with Willis, fired Willis and brought back Holzman. It was years before the team got competitive again.

Bob McAdoo was the Melo of his day. Led the league in scoring, but not a team building star.

Spencer was another slick top 10 scorer at one point, but he shoveled more snow up his nose than an avalanche in Aspen.

George would have been a good pick-up at that point in the mid-70s. Great PF who instead teamed up with Dr. J in Philly and almost won a chip, though Philly dumped him later on Denver for his unprofessional behavior.

The Knicks unraveled pretty quickly in the second half of the 70s.

In the 80s there was some entertainment with Hubie Brown and Rick Pitino coaching, but no true contention. We did, however, have some nice talent in our backcourt in Ray Williams and Micheal Richardson whom I still think of as the most talented PG in Knicks history, if not the best.

We did get the pleasure of watching the greatest offensive player in Knicks history in Bernard (yes, greater than Brunson) and he was so good he almost dragged us deeper into the playoffs, but the roster was not strong enough to get further.

And an honorable mention to Johnny Newman who would sometimes go completely bananas and score like crazy off the bench. He was a fun microwave player to watch when he was in the zone.

What, no love for Chris McNealy or Jawaan Oldham?

What infinite abyss of memory did you pull those names from?

[Knick4Real]

[Luv those Knicks]

^^^ After the 74 playoffs not only Willis retired but Dave Debusschere and Jerry Lucas too. The frontcourt was gone. The old magic was never the same. The rest of the 70s management tried big names Spencer Haywood and Bob McAdoo but it didn't work. Tried to sign George McGinnis from the ABA against league rules, the commissioner shut that down. Replaced Red as coach with Willis, fired Willis and brought back Holzman. It was years before the team got competitive again.

Bob McAdoo was the Melo of his day. Led the league in scoring, but not a team building star.

Spencer was another slick top 10 scorer at one point, but he shoveled more snow up his nose than an avalanche in Aspen.

George would have been a good pick-up at that point in the mid-70s. Great PF who instead teamed up with Dr. J in Philly and almost won a chip, though Philly dumped him later on Denver for his unprofessional behavior.

The Knicks unraveled pretty quickly in the second half of the 70s.

In the 80s there was some entertainment with Hubie Brown and Rick Pitino coaching, but no true contention. We did, however, have some nice talent in our backcourt in Ray Williams and Micheal Richardson whom I still think of as the most talented PG in Knicks history, if not the best.

We did get the pleasure of watching the greatest offensive player in Knicks history in Bernard (yes, greater than Brunson) and he was so good he almost dragged us deeper into the playoffs, but the roster was not strong enough to get further.

And an honorable mention to Johnny Newman who would sometimes go completely bananas and score like crazy off the bench. He was a fun microwave player to watch when he was in the zone.

Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane.

McAdoo played in a tough time. Because of his height, he was asked to play center, which he wasn't built for. Today he'd be a 6'10 SF. He could be bullied back then. Though to his credit, he's the only Knick player to ever score 2000 pts and have 1000 rebounds in the same season. Ewing never did it. Neither did Willis. KAT might do it, if he plays close to 82 games. KAT did the 2000 and 1000 combo only once in his career, his sophomore season. Not that numbers mean anything, but McAdoo was often criticized for his play when he was, as you said, basically Melo. Very talented scorer.

We got Spender past his prime, probably for the reasons you said.

I remember Lonnie Shelton. Lonnie was tough, fun player who the Knicks had to give up because they signed free agent Marvin Webster (The Human Eraser). The league did that back then, the team that lost a player to free agency got a player in return and/or draft compensation. The Sonics got Lonnie and promptly won a title. The Knicks got the tail end of Webster's career. The league gave the Knicks back their draft pick after seeing how much the Sonics had been overcompensated. Webster had just one good season with the Knicks and he allowed them to move McAdoo to PF, but it didn't matter. They were bad that year.

Lonnie was kind of like Xavier McDaniel or Oakley with fewer rebounds. He was a guy you didn't want to mess with.

I also remember Phil Jackson's playing days. He wasn't very good but he was kind of funny looking with really long arms and fun to watch.

[WaltFrazier]

^^^ After the 74 playoffs not only Willis retired but Dave Debusschere and Jerry Lucas too. The frontcourt was gone. The old magic was never the same. The rest of the 70s management tried big names Spencer Haywood and Bob McAdoo but it didn't work. Tried to sign George McGinnis from the ABA against league rules, the commissioner shut that down. Replaced Red as coach with Willis, fired Willis and brought back Holzman. It was years before the team got competitive again.

Bob McAdoo was the Melo of his day. Led the league in scoring, but not a team building star.

Spencer was another slick top 10 scorer at one point, but he shoveled more snow up his nose than an avalanche in Aspen.

George would have been a good pick-up at that point in the mid-70s. Great PF who instead teamed up with Dr. J in Philly and almost won a chip, though Philly dumped him later on Denver for his unprofessional behavior.

The Knicks unraveled pretty quickly in the second half of the 70s.

In the 80s there was some entertainment with Hubie Brown and Rick Pitino coaching, but no true contention. We did, however, have some nice talent in our backcourt in Ray Williams and Micheal Richardson whom I still think of as the most talented PG in Knicks history, if not the best.

We did get the pleasure of watching the greatest offensive player in Knicks history in Bernard (yes, greater than Brunson) and he was so good he almost dragged us deeper into the playoffs, but the roster was not strong enough to get further.

And an honorable mention to Johnny Newman who would sometimes go completely bananas and score like crazy off the bench. He was a fun microwave player to watch when he was in the zone.

Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane.

McAdoo played in a tough time. Because of his height, he was asked to play center, which he wasn't built for. Today he'd be a 6'10 SF. He could be bullied back then. Though to his credit, he's the only Knick player to ever score 2000 pts and have 1000 rebounds in the same season. Ewing never did it. Neither did Willis. KAT might do it, if he plays close to 82 games. KAT did the 2000 and 1000 combo only once in his career, his sophomore season. Not that numbers mean anything, but McAdoo was often criticized for his play when he was, as you said, basically Melo. Very talented scorer.

We got Spender past his prime, probably for the reasons you said.

I remember Lonnie Shelton. Lonnie was tough, fun player who the Knicks had to give up because they signed free agent Marvin Webster (The Human Eraser). The league did that back then, the team that lost a player to free agency got a player in return and/or draft compensation. The Sonics got Lonnie and promptly won a title. The Knicks got the tail end of Webster's career. The league gave the Knicks back their draft pick after seeing how much the Sonics had been overcompensated. Webster had just one good season with the Knicks and he allowed them to move McAdoo to PF, but it didn't matter. They were bad that year.

Lonnie was kind of like Xavier McDaniel or Oakley with fewer rebounds. He was a guy you didn't want to mess with.

I also remember Phil Jackson's playing days. He wasn't very good but he was kind of funny looking with really long arms and fun to watch.

Not only would McAdoo be a power forward today, when he resurrected his career with the Lakers in the early 80s it was as a power forward then.

[WaltFrazier]

^^^ After the 74 playoffs not only Willis retired but Dave Debusschere and Jerry Lucas too. The frontcourt was gone. The old magic was never the same. The rest of the 70s management tried big names Spencer Haywood and Bob McAdoo but it didn't work. Tried to sign George McGinnis from the ABA against league rules, the commissioner shut that down. Replaced Red as coach with Willis, fired Willis and brought back Holzman. It was years before the team got competitive again.

Bob McAdoo was the Melo of his day. Led the league in scoring, but not a team building star.

Spencer was another slick top 10 scorer at one point, but he shoveled more snow up his nose than an avalanche in Aspen.

George would have been a good pick-up at that point in the mid-70s. Great PF who instead teamed up with Dr. J in Philly and almost won a chip, though Philly dumped him later on Denver for his unprofessional behavior.

The Knicks unraveled pretty quickly in the second half of the 70s.

In the 80s there was some entertainment with Hubie Brown and Rick Pitino coaching, but no true contention. We did, however, have some nice talent in our backcourt in Ray Williams and Micheal Richardson whom I still think of as the most talented PG in Knicks history, if not the best.

We did get the pleasure of watching the greatest offensive player in Knicks history in Bernard (yes, greater than Brunson) and he was so good he almost dragged us deeper into the playoffs, but the roster was not strong enough to get further.

And an honorable mention to Johnny Newman who would sometimes go completely bananas and score like crazy off the bench. He was a fun microwave player to watch when he was in the zone.

What, no love for Chris McNealy or Jawaan Oldham?

Dominique's brother Gerald Wilkins had some decent years under Pitino. Kenny 'Sky' Walker wasn't that good but won the dunk contest in 1989.

[Zenzibar]

^^^ After the 74 playoffs not only Willis retired but Dave Debusschere and Jerry Lucas too. The frontcourt was gone. The old magic was never the same. The rest of the 70s management tried big names Spencer Haywood and Bob McAdoo but it didn't work. Tried to sign George McGinnis from the ABA against league rules, the commissioner shut that down. Replaced Red as coach with Willis, fired Willis and brought back Holzman. It was years before the team got competitive again.

Bob McAdoo was the Melo of his day. Led the league in scoring, but not a team building star.

Spencer was another slick top 10 scorer at one point, but he shoveled more snow up his nose than an avalanche in Aspen.

George would have been a good pick-up at that point in the mid-70s. Great PF who instead teamed up with Dr. J in Philly and almost won a chip, though Philly dumped him later on Denver for his unprofessional behavior.

The Knicks unraveled pretty quickly in the second half of the 70s.

In the 80s there was some entertainment with Hubie Brown and Rick Pitino coaching, but no true contention. We did, however, have some nice talent in our backcourt in Ray Williams and Micheal Richardson whom I still think of as the most talented PG in Knicks history, if not the best.

We did get the pleasure of watching the greatest offensive player in Knicks history in Bernard (yes, greater than Brunson) and he was so good he almost dragged us deeper into the playoffs, but the roster was not strong enough to get further.

And an honorable mention to Johnny Newman who would sometimes go completely bananas and score like crazy off the bench. He was a fun microwave player to watch when he was in the zone.

How can Earl Monroe and Walt not be #1?

[Zenzibar]

^^^ After the 74 playoffs not only Willis retired but Dave Debusschere and Jerry Lucas too. The frontcourt was gone. The old magic was never the same. The rest of the 70s management tried big names Spencer Haywood and Bob McAdoo but it didn't work. Tried to sign George McGinnis from the ABA against league rules, the commissioner shut that down. Replaced Red as coach with Willis, fired Willis and brought back Holzman. It was years before the team got competitive again.

Bob McAdoo was the Melo of his day. Led the league in scoring, but not a team building star.

Spencer was another slick top 10 scorer at one point, but he shoveled more snow up his nose than an avalanche in Aspen.

George would have been a good pick-up at that point in the mid-70s. Great PF who instead teamed up with Dr. J in Philly and almost won a chip, though Philly dumped him later on Denver for his unprofessional behavior.

The Knicks unraveled pretty quickly in the second half of the 70s.

In the 80s there was some entertainment with Hubie Brown and Rick Pitino coaching, but no true contention. We did, however, have some nice talent in our backcourt in Ray Williams and Micheal Richardson whom I still think of as the most talented PG in Knicks history, if not the best.

We did get the pleasure of watching the greatest offensive player in Knicks history in Bernard (yes, greater than Brunson) and he was so good he almost dragged us deeper into the playoffs, but the roster was not strong enough to get further.

And an honorable mention to Johnny Newman who would sometimes go completely bananas and score like crazy off the bench. He was a fun microwave player to watch when he was in the zone.

Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane.

McAdoo played in a tough time. Because of his height, he was asked to play center, which he wasn't built for. Today he'd be a 6'10 SF. He could be bullied back then. Though to his credit, he's the only Knick player to ever score 2000 pts and have 1000 rebounds in the same season. Ewing never did it. Neither did Willis. KAT might do it, if he plays close to 82 games. KAT did the 2000 and 1000 combo only once in his career, his sophomore season. Not that numbers mean anything, but McAdoo was often criticized for his play when he was, as you said, basically Melo. Very talented scorer.

We got Spender past his prime, probably for the reasons you said.

I remember Lonnie Shelton. Lonnie was tough, fun player who the Knicks had to give up because they signed free agent Marvin Webster (The Human Eraser). The league did that back then, the team that lost a player to free agency got a player in return and/or draft compensation. The Sonics got Lonnie and promptly won a title. The Knicks got the tail end of Webster's career. The league gave the Knicks back their draft pick after seeing how much the Sonics had been overcompensated. Webster had just one good season with the Knicks and he allowed them to move McAdoo to PF, but it didn't matter. They were bad that year.

Lonnie was kind of like Xavier McDaniel or Oakley with fewer rebounds. He was a guy you didn't want to mess with.

I also remember Phil Jackson's playing days. He wasn't very good but he was kind of funny looking with really long arms and fun to watch.

I remember McAdoo in Buffalo where he was an un-guardable scoring machine, squeezing in 4 years of 30+ ppg. Nevertheless, the teams he was on in NY were scrubs. I believe he went to play with Magic in LA and won a chip.

[Clyde_Style]

^^^ After the 74 playoffs not only Willis retired but Dave Debusschere and Jerry Lucas too. The frontcourt was gone. The old magic was never the same. The rest of the 70s management tried big names Spencer Haywood and Bob McAdoo but it didn't work. Tried to sign George McGinnis from the ABA against league rules, the commissioner shut that down. Replaced Red as coach with Willis, fired Willis and brought back Holzman. It was years before the team got competitive again.

Bob McAdoo was the Melo of his day. Led the league in scoring, but not a team building star.

Spencer was another slick top 10 scorer at one point, but he shoveled more snow up his nose than an avalanche in Aspen.

George would have been a good pick-up at that point in the mid-70s. Great PF who instead teamed up with Dr. J in Philly and almost won a chip, though Philly dumped him later on Denver for his unprofessional behavior.

The Knicks unraveled pretty quickly in the second half of the 70s.

In the 80s there was some entertainment with Hubie Brown and Rick Pitino coaching, but no true contention. We did, however, have some nice talent in our backcourt in Ray Williams and Micheal Richardson whom I still think of as the most talented PG in Knicks history, if not the best.

We did get the pleasure of watching the greatest offensive player in Knicks history in Bernard (yes, greater than Brunson) and he was so good he almost dragged us deeper into the playoffs, but the roster was not strong enough to get further.

And an honorable mention to Johnny Newman who would sometimes go completely bananas and score like crazy off the bench. He was a fun microwave player to watch when he was in the zone.

How can Earl Monroe and Walt not be #1?

Not sure what in my post you are referring to

[Zenzibar]

Bob McAdoo was the Melo of his day. Led the league in scoring, but not a team building star.

Spencer was another slick top 10 scorer at one point, but he shoveled more snow up his nose than an avalanche in Aspen.

George would have been a good pick-up at that point in the mid-70s. Great PF who instead teamed up with Dr. J in Philly and almost won a chip, though Philly dumped him later on Denver for his unprofessional behavior.

The Knicks unraveled pretty quickly in the second half of the 70s.

In the 80s there was some entertainment with Hubie Brown and Rick Pitino coaching, but no true contention. We did, however, have some nice talent in our backcourt in Ray Williams and Micheal Richardson whom I still think of as the most talented PG in Knicks history, if not the best.

We did get the pleasure of watching the greatest offensive player in Knicks history in Bernard (yes, greater than Brunson) and he was so good he almost dragged us deeper into the playoffs, but the roster was not strong enough to get further.

And an honorable mention to Johnny Newman who would sometimes go completely bananas and score like crazy off the bench. He was a fun microwave player to watch when he was in the zone.

How can Earl Monroe and Walt not be #1?

Not sure what in my post you are referring to

Forget it me neither.

[WaltFrazier]

Dick and Clyde both 6'4 that was a big backcourt in the day. Dick could play D, shoot, pass, a solid veteran member of the 70 title team. And a cool dude, great locker room raconteur

[HarthorneWingo]

Isn’t is “Dr.” Dick Barnett? I thought he got his Ph.D.

[matchman]

RIP and what a unique jump shot.

[bballoctober]

I think we can lock it now and look down on us from heaven Dr. Barnett.

[Jeff Van Gully]

I think we can lock it now and look down on us from heaven Dr. Barnett.

he's with us. so is jackie towns.

[WaltFrazier]

Isn’t is “Dr.” Dick Barnett? I thought he got his Ph.D.

I believe when they were still playing, Barnett helped Bill Bradley choose sharper clothes and Bill helped him with his early academic work when he first went back to school. NYU I think not sure.

Clyde also credited Dick with being his role model for dressing, and Barnett introduced Clyde to his tailor to get Clyde started on the road to his rep for clothes

[HarthorneWingo]

Isn’t is “Dr.” Dick Barnett? I thought he got his Ph.D.

I believe when they were still playing, Barnett helped Bill Bradley choose sharper clothes and Bill helped him with his early academic work when he first went back to school. NYU I think not sure.

Clyde also credited Dick with being his role model for dressing, and Barnett introduced Clyde to his tailor to get Clyde started on the road to his rep for clothes

Cool story. Didn’t know.

[knicks94]

Seems like almost everytime a star player passes away or is about to they become a good luck charm to their former team. Kobe in 2020 for the Lakers, Paul Westfall for the Suns in 2021, Bill Russell in 2022 for the Celtics, George McGinnis for the Nuggets in 2023, Bill Walton in 2024 for the Celtics and now Dick Barnett for the Knicks in 2025.

[8516knicks]

Would like to see Earl the Pearl courtside if he's up to it (80 years now). Gotta remember him also!!!