“Besides having all the skils, he had unbelievable natural instincts. They are the truth, from multiple sources, including Barnes himself. PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A former Providence College teammate says Marvin Barnes, who led the school to the Final Four in 1973 and starred in the old American Basketball Association, has died. It’s a ride that is exciting and astonishing but incredibly predictable and ultimately sad. Carey first "became acquainted" (his words, not mine) with Marvin Barnes in 1977 when he was playing for the Detroit Pistons and Carey was the night news editor for the Boston Herald American. The 6-foot-9 forward was an All-American in college and was the second overall pick of the 1974 draft, behind only UCLA's Bill Walton. www.celticslife.com/2011/07/what-hell-happened-tomarvin-barnes.html These are Mike’s stories. That statement, sends shivers down my spine. You love your sports, you love your teams, and you’re always looking for more news about them. The cause of death was not known, but Barnes had battled drug addiction for years. He brings you to Barnes’ pro basketball career, explained in perfect detail, noting Barnes' infatuation with the lifestyle of hardened criminals which led Bad News to carry not one but two guns at all times. J” Erving days of the Virginia Squires and the New York Nets (Hempstead, Commack and Uniondale - not Piscataway, East Rutherford) and Mike was fixated on the career of one, Marvin “Bad News” Barnes, he of Providence College, the Spirits of St. Louis and an NBA career gone bad. Interesting look at Marvin ‘Bad News’ Barnes who had immense talent, but flamed out because of drugs and other trouble. I enjoyed hundreds of games and saw a very competitive Nets team play damn near every night. As does the rest of this book, by the way. Now, these are not stereotypes and they aren’t tall tales. I met Mike Carey in the early 1980s when he was covering the very beginning of the “Bird, McHale and Parish” era of the Celtics for the Boston Herald. A former Providence College teammate says Marvin Barnes, who led the school to the Final Four in 1973 and starred in the old American Basketball Association, has died. As an everyday fan of the league, I can’t say I buy-into all the mythical stories from ABA days gone by. Amidst an introduction that is astonishing but certainly not surprising, Carey is sure to catch your attention with a small dose of Marvin’s “Bad News” side of life, navigating his mob associations, fraternizing with pimps, drug-dealing and dosing but Carey is quick to establish the fact Barnes played three years at PC with all three resulting in NCAA Tournament bids and one trip to the NCAA Final Four, in 1973. when only 25 (not sixty-something) teams qualified for the right to play for a national championship. A Hall of Fame coach in the great Larry Brown, who will forget more basketball in five minutes this evening than I've learned in a lifetime of dedication and hard work behind the scenes of the game, described Barnes thusly; “Right from the start of his career, Marvin was special, one of my favorites,” said Brown, channeling his usual phrase to describe a player before coming through with the juice. Barnes shocked the basketball world when, in 1974, he decided to sign a seven-year, $2.2 million dollar contract with the ABA’s Spirits of St. Louis, formerly the Carolina Cougars, shunning the more secure, established NBA and its Philadelphia 76ers franchise that drafted him with the second overall pick. Barnes was the first top-three draft pick to go to the ABA. That relationship, which continued after Marvin’s release, endured through a time when Carey was asked to be godfather of Barnes’ infant daughter, as they remained close, “through one incredible crisis after another,” said Carey, “through self-destructiveness that (Carey) would discover, was the essence of Marvin, a perpetually misguided soul who would never secure a firm grip on life.”. For my readers' benefit, I won't spoil what came immediately after Carey's first exchange with Barnes, a day or so after the Herald story was published. That statement to basketball aficionados provokes a HOLY S%*T reaction. but updated for Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra. But, he couldn’t handle Marvin.”. From now on, our troubles will be out of sight, From now on, our troubles will be miles away, Through the years we all will be together, — Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane (orig.) Two stories of Barnes remain popular to this day. Carey had written a lengthy article for the Sunday edition of the paper delving into the many run-ins with the law of the former Providence College all-American player who had refused a request for an interview for that story, stating, “I don’t talk to reporters no more, you’re all scumbags.”. At one point, it was hard to focus on basketball because he was making so much selling pot. Thorn felt the one-on-session had helped Barnes. Carey captures it all. The recommendation today is to buy the book - “Bad News,” the turbulent life of Marvin Barnes, Pro Basketball’s Original Renegade, by Mike Carey, but be forewarned, not every real life story ends happily. Only the great Bill Walton of UCLA was a better pro prospect at the time. He was 62. He takes you through the college recruiting, past a never-considered look (by coach John Wooden) to the only college hoops dynasty of UCLA, to the U of Cincinnati to PC. Mike and I shared a love for ice hockey and the old American Basketball Association, as I was schooled on the Julius “Dr. Carey first "became acquainted" (his words, not mine) with Marvin Barnes in 1977 when he was playing for the Detroit Pistons and Carey was the night news editor for the Boston Herald American. Barnes’ behavior frustrated the Spirits, but he had a sense of humor and a naiveté that made him endearing, too. Barnes’ floppy hats, his leather bells, his parading around town with the most gorgeous women in his silver, glistening Rolls-Royce with a red mobile phone long before ANYONE had a mobile phone (and it cost him $2,700 a month to buy it). Marvin Jerome Barnes was born in North Kingstown, R.I., on July 27, 1952, and grew up in Providence, where he attended Central High School, leading the … Or sign in with Facebook, Twitter, or Google. In fact, Carey passes along insights from the time of Barnes’ imprisonment when he would call collect “three or four times a week,” to talk sports and of his experiences behind bars. Kevin Stacom, one of Barnes' closest friends, told the Providence Journal on Monday that Barnes died at a home in Providence. The following day, Barnes failed to show up on time for the team plane and missed the Spirits’ next game. Stacom did not return messages seeking comment from The Associated Press. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Marvin Barnes, who led Providence College to the Final Four in 1973 and starred in the old American Basketball Association, has died, a newspaper reported Monday. He was 62. Please see this site for more information and to purchase the book: https://www.amazon.com/Bad-News-Turbulent-Basketball%C2%92s-Original/dp/1613219636, 3 Potential Gordon Hayward Trade Scenarios, Does this NBA finals win make Lebron James the …. Now for those unaware, the ABA has a great renegade reputation which seems to be increasingly embellished over the years. But then again, I wasn’t traveling the beat with Marvin “Bad News” Barnes. PROVIDENCE - As Christmas fast approaches, this column offers an idea for a great gift for any basketball fan, whether it be a grizzled purist from NBA and ABA days of yore, like me, or for a young, impressionable adult just embracing the game through the eyes of Lebron James or Steph Curry. 1776030848. 1 pick, The people with all the power in NBA free agency, What our NBA experts like and don't like about a pre-Christmas start, Best and worst cases for the Warriors, the Knicks and the teams we haven't seen since March, NBA free agency and trade debate: How the Pelicans help Zion, and bold predictions, Predicting the big decisions surrounding Giannis, the 76ers, CP3 and the Warriors' pick, How former NBA star Nate Robinson ended up boxing on Mike Tyson's undercard, NBA Power Rankings, way-too-early edition: What's next for Lakers, Heat and all 30 teams, These Lakers made it through every moment that could have broken them. He goes back to the beginning and takes you through a ride in that Rolls. But he opted for the rival ABA, where he was rookie of the year in 1975. I had always thought Bobby Jones, who, in my opinion was the greatest defensive forward of the ‘70s and ‘80s, could stop anyone. Former NBA player Marvin Barnes dies at 62, Sources: NBA eyes pre-Xmas start, 72 games, Riley ready to run it back with similar Heat team, Bucks' Hill flies to Wisconsin to urge early voting, NBA draft to be held virtually at ESPN Nov. 18, Stan Van Gundy named new coach of Pelicans, Wolves don't see clear choice for No. It was known for a more “up-tempo,” less defense, more finger-roll (see George Iceman Gervin) style of play than its NBA rival. Providence College athletic director Bob Driscoll says Barnes will always be remembered as one of the greatest Friars of all-time. Get the book, my friends, and have yourself a Merry little Christmas, now. My view of the book can best be described as follows, noting that when I chat with Carey next, I’ll be sure to say, “You had me at scumbags,” but I was left wondering if the term was one word or two?

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