John Anthony "Rabbit" Barnhill (March 20, 1938 – November 11, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. He played for the St. Louis Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Baltimore Bullets and San Diego Rockets in the National Basketball Association (NBA); and the Indianapolis Pacers and Denver Rockets in the American Basketball Association (ABA). Barnhill attended Tennessee A & I State College (now Tennessee State University) where he was the starting point guard on three consecutive NAIA national men's basketball championship teams from 1956 to 1959, playing under Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach John McClendon. These three teams were collectively inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. He was named to the first or second all-tournament teams in each of those seasons.
After graduating college, he played for the Cleveland Pipers, winning championships in the National Industrial Basketball League and the American Basketball League. Barnhill was a member of the Pipers team that defeated the 1960 United States men's Olympic basketball team, scoring 21 points in the only defeat that team ever suffered. He was also selected to play on an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team that played eight exhibition games in the Soviet Union in 1961. As a professional player, Barnhill played for the 1970 ABA champion Indiana Pacers, and was a member of the Pacers championship team during the 1972 regular season.
Barnhill was born on March 20, 1938, in Sturgis, Kentucky. He was raised in Evansville, Indiana, and attended Lincoln High School, an all-Black school in Evansville where he was president of his senior class. Lincoln was closed in 1962. Barnhill played on Lincoln's basketball team from 1952 to 1955, and was team captain all three seasons. As a junior, he was a 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) forward on the 1953–54 team, and a 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) forward on the 1954–55 team as a senior. Barnhill led the team in scoring during the 1953–54 season. He averaged 19.5 points per game as a senior. In his senior year, Lincoln was undefeated during the regular season, winning the city championship; but later lost its first game of the year in sectional competition, ending a 20–0 winning streak. Lincoln was the first Evansville team to go undefeated in the regular season.
In 1964, Evansville's Sunday Courier and Press named Barnhill first-team All-Evansville among all high school basketball players over the previous decade.
Barnhill attended Tennessee State University (then known as Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State College), in Nashville, where he received a Bachelor of Science in physical education. Barnhill played basketball for the Tennessee State Tigers under future Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame head coach John McClendon, who had learned basketball directly from James Naismith. After hearing about Barnhill from Lincoln High School's principal, who worked at Tennessee State in the summers, McClendon went to Evansville to recruit Barnhill; and Barnhill's mother trusted that McClendon would look after her son.
Barnhill was a playmaking point guard on Tennessee State's teams from 1956 to 1959. He played on the 1956–57 Tigers team had a 31–4 record (though also reported contemporaneously as 25–4 record). The Tigers won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) championship in 1957, defeating Southeastern Oklahoma 92–73 in the championship game. Tennessee State was the first historically black college and university (HBCU) to win a major national college basketball championship. Barnhill was a starting guard on the team, and was named to the second-team All-Tournament Team by the NAIA. His teammates included, among others, future Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame guard Dick Barnett, who was named to the first-team All-NAIA Tournament Team that season.
The Tigers won the NAIA championships again in the 1957–58 and 1958–59 seasons. This was the first time any college team had won three consecutive national basketball titles. The Tigers had a 31–3 record in 1957–58, and a 32–1 record in 1958–59. In 2019, the three Tennessee State championship teams were collectively inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2014, all three of these Tennessee State teams were collectively inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Barnhill and Dick Barnett were later selected among the 25 players on the NAIA's 50th anniversary all-star team, along with players such as Naismith Hall of Fame members Earl Monroe, Willis Reed and Zelmo Beatty. McClendon was also named to the 50th anniversary team as a coach. Barnhill and Barnett were among the 60 players selected to the NAIA's 75th anniversary all-star team.
In the 1958 championship win over Western Illinois, 85–73, all five Tennessee State starters played the entire game. Barnhill was named second-team All-NAIA Tournament Team for the second consecutive year. Barnett was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP). Barnhill was team captain in 1958–59, and considered the team's "floor general" on the court. Fellow Lincoln High graduate and future NBA player Porter Meriwether joined the Tigers that season. Tennessee State defeated Pacific Lutheran, 97–87, for their third NAIA title. Barnhill was named to the first-team All-NAIA Tournament Team, along with Barnett (who was the MVP for a second consecutive year). Barnhill was a second-team NAIA All-American in 1959.
Barnhill finished his college career with 1,253 points. He was Tennessee State's second leading all-time scorer when he graduated, behind only Dick Barnett. As of 2020, he ranked 19th in school history (with Barnett still first with 3,209 points). Barnhill was a three-time NAIA All-American (1957, 1958 and 1959), and helped the Tigers to a three-year record of 94–8 (.922).
Professional and amateur career
The St. Louis Hawks selected Barnhill in the 11th round of the 1959 NBA draft, 79th overall. Rather than playing with the Hawks, Barnhill joined the Cleveland Pipers of the National Industrial Basketball League, in 1959. The NIBL was considered an amateur league. John McClendon had left Tennessee State and taken the Pipers' head coaching job, and Barnhill became a starting guard. McClendon has been called the first African American coach of a professional sports team, although the Pipers did not join a professional league (the American Basketball League) until 1961. The team was purchased in 1960 by George Steinbrenner (future owner of the New York Yankees).
In the 1960–61 season, the Pipers were the NIBL champions and the National AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) champions. More significantly, before the NIBL season began, under McClendon's guidance the Pipers defeated the 1960 United States men's Olympic basketball team in an exhibition game, 101–96; the only defeat that team ever suffered. Barnhill had 21 points against the Olympic team, that included, among others, future NBA Hall of Fame players Walt Bellamy, Jerry Lucas, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West.
The Pipers joined the American Basketball League (ABL) for the 1961–62 season. The ABL was organized by Abe Saperstein, owner of the Harlem Globetrotters. Barnhill's Piper teammates included Dick Barnett and future NBA guard Larry Siegfried. The Pipers were ABL champions, but the league folded by the end of 1962. McClendon had left the team in January 1962 after a public dispute with Steinbrenner, and Hall of Fame guard and coach Bill Sharman took over as the Piper's head coach in leading the team to the championship in the ABL's sole season.
In early 1961, after Barnhill's second year in Cleveland, the AAU and United States Department of State organized a team of American players for a series of eight exhibition games in the Soviet Union, starting in April. The team was coached by John McClendon and was headed by Ohio State All-American Jerry Lucas as its most prominent player. The team included five Pipers: Barnhill, Ben Warley, Roger Taylor, Jack Adams, and Dan Swartz. Other American players included future NBA All-Star Tom Meschery, Mike Moran, Les Lane, Jerry Shipp, Gary Thompson, and Jim Francis.