Sunday, March 27 – Tikoyo Barnett, a junior member of the Georgia State University basketball team, died late Saturday night in a Pensacola, Fla. hospital as a result of an auto accident late Friday night near his hometown in Monroeville, Ala.
Barnett, born Dec. 3, 1982, had gone home for the Easter weekend. Barnett lost control of his car on Highway 84. A passenger in the car survived with minor injuries. Barnett was taken to a local Alabama hospital and later transported to a Pensacola hospital Saturday.
The funeral home is Jones Unity Funeral Home, 886 W.Claiborne St., Monroeville, Ala. The funeral is Saturday, April 2, at 1 p.m. at Bethel Baptist, 1040 Clausell Road.
A Tikoyo Barnett Trust Fund has been set up for his children: Bank Trust, P.O. Box 806 or 60 Hines Street, Monroeville, Ala. 36461. The Georgia State basketball team will charter a bus to attend the services in Alabama.
Barnett is the youngest of four children of Rufus and Willie Mae Barnett of Monroeville, Ala. He played his first two years of college ball at Alabama Southern Community College and enrolled at Georgia State this past August.
“Obviously, this is a sad, sad day for us at Georgia State,” Coach Michael Perry said.
“But more importantly, it is a tragic day for the Barnett family.”
“One of the worst fears of any parent is to get the late night phone call of a child in a serious accident,” Perry added. “Now, they have to bury a child and we have to bury a friend and teammate.”
“Tikoyo is really going to be missed because he was loved so much by his family, by his hometown community and by his Georgia State community,” Perry continued. “The ultimate compliment I can give a player is to say he was a coachable student-athlete and Tikoyo certainly was that. Off the floor, he was polite, courteous and unassuming. He simply was a fine, young man and student-athlete.”
Barnett's Junior College coach was Andeson Ligon. Ligon said: "Tikoyo was a hometown hero. This is devastating news. Tikoyo was one of the most promising athletes to ever come out of here."
Barnett Bio from GeorgiaStateSports.com Website
2004-05 Season: Barnett's first season with Georgia State saw him play in 28 of the 29 games for the 14-15 Panthers. Tikoyo finished seventh on the team in scoring (165 points, 5.9 average). He was also fifth on the team in rebounds (3.5).
Barnett's best back-to-back games came in his first two at Georgia State when he scored 15 points and 14 points in November in the Jim Thorpe Classic in Nevada to be named to that All-Tournament team. His highest scoring game was 17 points at Jacksonville in December. Barnett had one double-double game with 12 rebounds and 10 points vs. Stetson. He scored in double figures in eight games of 2004-05.
Season Preview: “Tikoyo should be another boost for our program because he brings a natural ability to score,” Coach Perry noted on his August 27 signing. “We are pleased that he played in a system that emphasizes the pressing and trapping full-court defense that we play and know he will be aggressive on both ends of the court.”
Tikoyo (nicknamed “T”) was highly recruited. After his August 13 graduation from Alabama Southern CC, he made visits to Illinois State and South Alabama and cancelled his visit to New Mexico State to sign with Georgia State. He had also drawn interest from Auburn, LSU and UTEP coming out of JUCO.
2003-04 JUCO Season:
Barnett ranked No. 27 in the NJCAA national statistics with his 9.56 rebound average and was No. 50 in the nation in with his 17.04 scoring average for the Eagles of Alabama Southern. He had a season high 33-point game vs. conference rival Southern Union.
Tikoyo showed his defensive prowess by leading the conference in blocked shots (58) while coming up with 35 steals.
2002-03 JUCO Season:
Tikoyo began his college career as conference MVP and a third-team All-America NJCAA pick after scoring nearly 20 points a game and pulling down 10 rebounds a game to rank in the top 25 in the national statistical rankings.
Prep Career:
An All-State high school player in Alabama, Barnett was picked as one of the five best players in the state by the Birmingham News as well as All-State by the Mobile Register.
Obviously, averaging double-doubles for the season, the highlights were many. His senior year included a 24-point scoring average to go with a 14-rebound average and a five-block per game average for the Monroe County Tigers of Coach Willie White.
One of his memorable games was a 41-point scoring effort (with 12 rebounds) vs. T.R. Miller HS. In a regional tournament game vs. a team from Mobile, Tikoyo had a 31-point, 18-rebound night. Barnett was chosen to play in the Alabama North-South All-Star game as well as the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game.
Personal Information:
Rufus Tikoyo (tee-koy-yo) Barnett, II, was born Dec. 3, 1982 in Monroeville, Ala., to Rufus and Willie Mae Barnett. That town is about an hour from Mobile in southern Alabama.
He is the youngest of four children with two older sisters (Tracie and Shanda) and a brother (Milton).
