The Miami Hurricanes Top 100 Plus Sports Icons

8. Rick Barry

The greatest player and greatest scorer in the history of the University of Miami Basketball. Barry was also named one of the NBA 50 greatest players in 1996.

Barry averaged 29.8 points per game during his three seasons at Miami. He also put up an impressive 16.5 rebounds per game in his collegiate career. Remarkably he improved each season. As a Senior in 1964-65, Barry averaged 37.4 PPG to lead the NCAA in scoring and added 18.3 RPG.

He became the Hurricanes first consensus first-team All-American in 1965. Barry went on to become one of the greatest scorers in basketball history. He is the only player to ever lead the NCAA, ABA and NBA in scoring.

Barry was the second pick in the 1965 NBA Draft by the then San Francisco Warriors. He led the NBA in scoring his second year in the league, averaging 35.6 points per game. Barry jumped ship the ABA’s Oakland Oaks after two seasons, only to be taken to court by the Warriors and forced to sit out the season. He spent the year working on Oaks radio broadcasts.

Barry later returned to the Warriors and led them to the 1975 NBA Championship. He was named the finals MVP. Barry retired with the Houston Rockets after the 1980 season and another appearance in the NBA Finals.

He finished his career being named All-NBA first team six teams, three times to the All-ABA first team and an eight-time All-Star.

Barry’s three seasons in Miami were the first time in school history they won 20 games in three consecutive seasons. They finished 65-16 during the “Barry era”. he remains the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,298 points. He also has the top eight scoring games in school history. (Information according to the University of Miami Hall of Fame). According to the UMHof, “Barry still holds 15 single game, season or career records, including most points and most rebounds.”