There are always certain athletes in the world of basketball who leave fans speculating about what their ceiling could have been had they avoided off-court issues and maintained their focus on their craft. Marvin Barnes was one such player.
With a natural talent for the game, the 6’8″ forward averaged 20.7 points and 17.9 rebounds over 89 games during his three seasons with the Providence Friars. Not only in collegiate basketball but even after entering the ABA, Barnes took no time to establish himself as a star when he averaged 24 points and 15.6 rebounds per game to rightfully be named the ROY in 1975 and only improved his scoring average to 24.1 in his sophomore year.
However, despite having such early success, the two-time All-Star could never build on his trajectory due to consistent off-court issues. Interestingly, that wasn’t something new; Barnes had such a penchant for falling into some or the other controversy that his high school coach gave up all hopes in him.