Youth and college career Barnett was born in
Greenville, South Carolina and raised in
Riverside, California. He is a member of the Riverside Hall of Fame and was selected as an NCAA All-American as a
University of Oregon basketball player. He is in the University of Oregon Hall of Fame and the State of Oregon Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the
Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor during the
2012 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament on March 10, 2012.
Pro career player Barnett's
NBA career began when the
Boston Celtics selected him with the eighth pick overall in the
1966 NBA draft. He later played for the Warriors for three seasons (1971–74) and five other teams during his 11-year career, including the
San Diego Rockets, the
Portland Trail Blazers, the
New Orleans Jazz,
New York Knicks, and the
Philadelphia 76ers. While playing for the Trail Blazers in 1971, Barnett attempted a rushed long-range shot against the rival
Los Angeles Lakers. His shot went in, prompting Blazers play-by-play announcer
Bill Schonely to exclaim "Rip City! All right!" The phrase "Rip City", the meaning for which Schonely has no explanation, nonetheless caught on and became synonymous with the team and the city of
Portland. Barnett played alongside many of the league's Hall of Famers, including Warriors stars
Rick Barry and
Nate Thurmond, as well as
Bill Russell,
John Havlicek,
Walt Frazier,
Earl Monroe,
Pete Maravich and
Julius Erving. Nicknamed "Crazy Horse", Barnett averaged 11.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 732 career games. == Broadcasting ==