Jim Barnett (born July 7, 1944) made his mark on Oregon as a durable, feisty player at both the University of Oregon and in the NBA, including one memorable season with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Born in 1944 in South Carolina, Barnett grew up in Riverside, Calif., and was recruited from Ramona High by the University of Oregon as a guard and small forward. Barnett chose Oregon over UCLA because he envisioned more playing time in Eugene. Jim played at McArthur Court from 1963 through ’66 and finished his career as the Ducks all-time leading scorer with 1,325 points. He was an All-American in 1966 and played in the NABC East-West All-Star Game.
The Boston Celtics selected Barnett with the eighth pick of the 1966 NBA Draft. The San Diego Rockets selected him the following season in the Expansion Draft. After three seasons in San Diego, he joined the Trail Blazers for the team’s expansion season in 1970.
In Portland, he recorded the Blazers first triple-double; 27 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. A last-second shot in 1971 is credited with inspiring broadcaster Bill Schonely to create the term “Rip City”. His only season with the Blazers was his best by the numbers: 18.5 points 4.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
Yet his most praised skills were on defense, he was assigned to guard the opponents top scoring threat in the backcourt.
During his 11-year NBA career, Barnett played for seven different teams; Boston, San Diego, Portland, San Francisco, New Orleans, New York and Philadelphia. He played 70 or more games in a season eight times and his teams reached the playoffs five times. For his career, Jim 11.7 points per game during his career, and retired at age 32.
Barnett was a natural as a broadcaster and worked his way through college and fill-in work to a multi-decade career as analyst with the Golden State Warriors on TV and radio. Jim Barnett was inducted into the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame and is a member of the Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor.