Barry Leibowitz (בארי לייבוביץ; born September 10, 1945) is an American-Israeli former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

and

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

. He played college basketball at

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York, United States. The university enrolls over 16,000 students and offers over 500 academic programs at its main campuses, LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post on Long I ...

(LIU). Chosen by the New York Knicks with the 48th overall pick of the 1967 NBA Draft, he instead played in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

for one season for the

Pittsburgh Pipers Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the 67th-most populous city in the U.S., with a population of 302,9 ...

New Jersey Americans New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, and Oakland Oaks. Subsequently, he moved to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and played for Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Haifa of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

for 17 seasons. In addition, he coached Hapoel Tel Aviv to an Israeli Basketball Premier League championship, and to an Israeli Basketball State Cup, both in the same season. He also played for the Israeli national team, of which he was captain, winning a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

at EuroBasket 1979 in Italy, a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the

1973 Maccabiah Games The 9th Maccabiah Games, which were held from July 9 to 19, 1973, were opened in Ramat Gan Stadium, Israel. Spain and Costa Rica made their debuts in the Games. A total of 1,800 athletes competed on behalf of 27 countries in 20 branches of sport, i ...

, and a silver medal in the

1977 Maccabiah Games At the 10th Maccabiah Games in Israel, more than 2,800 athletes from 34 countries participated in 26 different sports, including chess and bridge and for the first time badminton. The opening ceremonies were held on July 12, 1977, in Ramat Gan S ...

. He was inducted into the LIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.

Early life

Leibowitz was born and raised in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

in New York City, New York, and is Jewish."Barry Leibowitz,"
Basketball Reference. He graduated from

DeWitt Clinton High School DeWitt Clinton High School is a public high school located since 1929 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Opened in 1897 in Lower Manhattan as an all-boys school, it maintained that status for 86 years before becoming co-ed in 1983. From i ...

('63) in the Bronx."Leibowitz, Barry,"
''Jews in Sports''. There, he was a standout basketball player alongside future Hall of Famer Nate "Tiny" Archibald, and their team won the New York City PSAL championship in 1962–63.Charley Rosen (2014)
''Perfectly Awful; The Philadelphia 76ers' Horrendous and Hilarious 1972–1973 Season,''
University of Nebraska Press. He was the first white basketball player to play in the Rucker Tournament in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

in Manhattan.

College and Pan Am Maccabiah Games career

As a 6' 2"

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

on scholarship at

in the Metropolitan Collegiate Conference, from 1964–67 Leibowitz scored a total of 1,032 points. He helped lead the LIU Blackbirds to a 60–18 record, three consecutive Tri-State League championships, and three straight

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

College Division appearances. He was All-Met and All-Tri-State in 1966, co-captain of the team in 1966–67, and was named an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 1967. He played for the United States in the 1966 Pan American

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil, at which Team USA won a gold medal. Leibowitz played alongside, among others, Mark Turenshine and future

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

players Dave Newmark and

Rick Weitzman Richard L. Weitzman (born April 30, 1946) is an American former basketball player, scout, coach, and color commentator. He was a member of the Boston Celtics team that won the 1968 NBA Finals. Biography Weitzman played high school basketball in ...

American Basketball Association career

After graduating from LIU in 1967, Leibowitz was selected by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

in the fifth round (48th overall) of the 1967 NBA Draft, and by the

with the 12th pick in the ABA Draft (directly ahead of Clem Haskins). He chose to play for Pittsburgh in the new

. Leibowitz played one season (1967–68) in the

(ABA) as a member of the

, and Oakland Oaks. He was traded twice and played for three teams in the first four months of the season. Playing first for the Pipers alongside

Connie Hawkins Cornelius Lance "Connie" Hawkins (July 17, 1942 – October 6, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. A New York City playground legend, "the Hawk" was to play basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball, Iowa Hawkeyes but wa ...

, who had played for the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

and asserted that in their travels he had become fluent in 50 to 60 languages, Leibowitz quipped: "He learned one word in every country, so he thought he was fluent in fifty to sixty languages. And nobody was going to argue with him." Leibowitz was traded by the Pittsburgh Pipers to the

(now the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

in the

) for

Art Heyman Arthur Bruce Heyman (June 24, 1941 – August 27, 2012) was an American professional basketball player. Playing for Duke University in college, in 1963 he was USBWA Player of the Year, AP Player of the Year, UPI Player of the Year, ''Sporting ...

(the first overall pick in the first round of the 1963 NBA draft) in December 1967; the ''

Miami News ''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the ''Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...

'' called it "one of the few straight-Jewish-player trades in sports history." Two months later, Leibowitz was traded again, this time to the Oakland Oaks (for Levern "Jelly" Tart, who was leading the league in scoring at the time), with whom he finished the year. In 82 games, he averaged 10.9 points and 3.7 assists per game, while shooting 80.5% from the free throw line (11th in the ABA). He was 5th in the ABA in assists (301).

Israeli professional career

Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Haifa

In June 1968 before the start of the 1968–69 season, the Oakland Oaks sought to send Leibowitz to the

New Orleans Buccaneers The New Orleans Buccaneers were a charter member of the American Basketball Association. After three seasons in New Orleans, Louisiana, the franchise moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where it became the Memphis Pros, Pros, Memphis Tams, Tams, and Me ...

in a trade for point guard Larry Brown and small forward

Doug Moe Douglas Edwin Moe (born September 21, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. As a head coach with the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 1988. Ea ...

, and he was signed to a two-year contract for $11,000 ($ in current dollar terms) a season.Ron Smith, John Gardella (2003)
''Official NBA Register,''
Sporting News Publishing Company. The Buccaneers then traded him with that contract to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

. During that off-season, however, Leibowitz decided against playing for a fourth team in the ABA. During his summer vacation he took a trip to the Greek islands, after which he dropped by for a three-day visit with his college teammate Ivan Leshinsky and his friend Mark Turenshine who were playing basketball in Israel. Unexpectedly, he ended up signing to play in Israel as well, instead of returning to the U.S. He spoke to his new coach in the U.S., who told him that it was a shame, but that if Israel did not work out for him "then come, you have a place." So he said to himself: "What do I have to lose? I'll try it for a year and if it doesn't work out, I'll come back."Jess Silver (December 6, 1968)
"Israel Readies its Maccabia Games,"
''The Detroit Jewish News''. He later said that he stayed in Israel because of its sea,

hummus Hummus (, ; , , also spelled hommus or houmous), (full name: Hummus Bi Tahini) is a Levantine cuisine, Levantine Dip (food), dip, spread (food), spread, or savory Dish (food), dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, le ...

, and

tahini Tahini () (, or in Iraq: (rashi-راشي)) is a Middle Eastern condiment (a seed butter) made from ground sesame seeds. The most common variety comes from hulled seeds, but unhulled ones can also be used; the latter variety is slightly bitter, ...

with olive oil. Leibowitz played professionally in Israel for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the

, with whom his first salary was 600 Israeli pounds ($170 ($ in current dollar terms)) per month.Ron Ornan and Avi Amikam (February 22, 2002)
"The guys line up for a photo shoot and Barry demands: "Losers on one side, winners on the other,"
''Makor Rishon''. He played for the team from 1968 until 1982, with a short break from playing. He was temporarily banned by

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

from playing because he was not an amateur, having played one season in the ABA, and he instead became the team’s coach for a time."The Club Scene: Hapoel Tel Aviv,"
Euroleague Basketball, November 18, 2022. He coached the team to the Israeli Basketball Premier League and Israeli Basketball State Cup double in 1968–69. He then returned strictly as a player. In 1976, Leibowitz scored 51 points in a Korac Cup game against Spain's

FC Barcelona Bàsquet FC Barcelona Bàsquet (English: FC Barcelona Basketball), commonly referred to as FC Barcelona () and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional basketball team based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is a part of the FC Barcelona sport ...

, although Hapoel Tel Aviv lost 117–126. His high-scoring season was 1979, when he averaged 22.6 points per game. He was named the Israeli Basketball Premier League Player of the Year in 1975, and a Premier League All Star in 1973 and 1975, 1976, and 1977. From 1982 to 1985 he played for Hapoel Haifa. In 1985, at 40 years of age, he retired from basketball.

Israeli national team and Maccabiah Games career

Leibowitz was the captain of Israeli national team that won the

at EuroBasket 1979 in Italy. He also played for it in the

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

European championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

s. He played basketball in the

. There, he won a

with Team Israel alongside Tal Brody and Mickey Berkowitz. He also played for Team Israel in the

, winning a silver medal.

Hall of Fame

In 2002, Leibowitz was inducted into the LIU Athletics Hall of Fame."Barry Leibowitz,"
LIU Athletics.

Personal

While in Israel, Leibowitz married an Israeli woman, and made ''aliyah'' by immigrating to Israel.Rafael Na'eh (June 19, 2023)
"The tourist who became a star / making history,"
''Ynet''. In 2002, he was working as a children's basketball coach, but his main profession was as a high school teacher of physiology and anatomy. He later lived in

Plantation, Florida Plantation is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a part of the South Florida metropolitan area. The city's name comes from the previous part-owner of the land, the Everglades Plantation Company, and their unsuccessful attem ...

, and

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

.Udi Hirsch (April 3, 2004)
"Barry's Disasters,"
''Makor Rishon''. He has a daughter, Alona, who lives in Israel, is married to Israeli coach and former basketball player Yehu Orland, and has a son named Omri.Gidi Lipkin (November 18, 2013)
"Leibovich: Hapoel can win the derby if they stay strong,"
''One''.Irad Tzafrir (November 14, 2017)
"Barry Leibovitz: "What did I stay in Israel for? Sea, hummus and tahini with olive oil,"
''Haaretz''.

References

External links

*
Facebook page"בארי לייבוביץ׳ #5"
interview, August 2024 (''audio'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Leibowitz, Barry 1945 births Living people 20th-century American Jews 20th-century Israeli Jews 20th-century Israeli sportsmen American emigrants to Israel American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Florida Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Basketball players from the Bronx Competitors at the 1977 Maccabiah Games DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Flamingo's Haarlem players Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Israeli men's basketball players Jewish American basketball coaches Jewish American basketball players Jewish Israeli sportspeople Jews from Florida Jews from New York (state) LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball players Maccabiah Games basketball players for Israel Maccabiah Games silver medalists for Israel New Jersey Americans players New York Knicks draft picks Oakland Oaks players Pittsburgh Pipers draft picks Pittsburgh Pipers players Point guards Shooting guards Sportspeople from Plantation, Florida