Marvin Barnes, Rising ABA Star in the 1970s, Tells of Drug Dealing with the St. Louis Mob
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| Marvin Barnes as an ABA player |
He had another nickname: "Bad News," which stemmed from his off-the-court activities.
Late last week the AOL site FanHouse published "'Bad News' Always Made Headlines", a story by Chris Tomasson based on his interviews with Barnes about the former player's twin careers: pro basketball and prolific drug-trafficking.
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| The Spirts of St. Louis logo. |
During this time, Barnes says, his local drug-dealing associate was Roosevelt Becton, a man the ex-hoopster describes as St. Louis' "godfather."
From the article:
From the article:
"I would have been one of the 50 greatest players of all time,'' said Barnes, 57, who now works with at-risk teenagers in his Men to Men program in his hometown of Providence, R.I., telling them the pitfalls of drugs. "I was one of the five best players on the planet period (with St. Louis). Just ask anybody (from) back then ... I was kicking some butt. ... But I was going on a downhill spiral. I met drug traffickers in St. Louis and they showed me another way of life. And that was detrimental to my basketball career.''
Barnes now lives in his native Providence, Rhode Island, and works with at-risk youth through the Rebound Foundation. Read the full story here.
Also, here's an RFT story about the Spirits of STL by Chad Garrison, in which broadcaster extraordinaire Bob Costas, who cut his teeth calling games for the local ABA franchise, agrees with Barnes' self-assessment: "He had such an incredible charm and personality. There's no doubt in my mind that had he not screwed himself up, he would have been one of the best 50 players ever in the NBA."
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