When Canyon Barry attempted an underhand free throw in high school, he expected jeers from opponents and spectators. But after stepping to the line during one game, he was surprised to hear an unsuspecting referee raise his voice.
“Rick Barry, who do you think you are?” the referee asked on his way back down court.
“Actually,” Canyon replied, “he's my father, and he's sitting right there.”
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Canyon Barry laughed as he told this story in a recent phone interview with the Chronicle. He may have borrowed his famous father's signature free throw technique, but Canyon carved out his own unique place in the basketball world.
Barry, 30, became a mainstay in USA Basketball's 3×3 program, which won gold medals at the 2019 World Cup and last year's Pan American Games. And on March 26, he became one of four players selected to the U.S. 3×3 men's national team for this summer's Paris Olympics, giving him a chance to add a gold medal to his family's rich hoops history.
Patriarch Rick Barry led the Golden State Warriors to the 1975 NBA Championship, the crowning achievement of a Hall of Fame career. Barry spent eight seasons with the Warriors, was named an All-Star 12 times (including in the ABA), and was named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
Barry's four sons from his first marriage (Canyon's half-brothers) also excelled on the court. John played 14 seasons in the NBA, including one season with the Warriors. Brent also had a 14-year career that included two championships with San Antonio. Drew was All-ACC at Georgia Tech and briefly played in the league. And Scooter helped the University of Kansas win the 1988 NCAA title.
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But none of them went to the Olympics, not even Rick.
In some ways, Lynn Barry, Rick's wife and Canyon's mother, shaped her son's path to the Olympics. She played four years in college at the College of William and Mary (her No. 22 was retired) and spent 12 years running USA Basketball's women's program, which spanned summer tournaments in Seoul, Barcelona and Atlanta.
Lynn Barry later worked as a consultant for the WNBA and helped launch the league in the late 1990s. And when Canyon found success at the colleges of Charleston and Florida, then suffered a setback in the G League and became homesick while playing overseas as a professional, Lin pursued a 3×3 opportunity with USA Basketball. I encouraged him.
Now, five years after joining the fast-paced half-court game, he's headed to Paris.
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Canyon said, “I'm so honored to be able to do something that Barry has never done before.” “It’s great to add to her legacy in Barry in a new and unique way.”
Canyon grew up in Colorado Springs, where he played multiple sports and eventually fell in love with basketball due to his family. His early lessons were from Lin, with whom he learned dribbling drills and other fundamentals.
As he readily admitted, she was more patient than Rick. “Lynn really laid the foundation,” Rick said.
When he showed a sense of the game at an early age, they began to envision a bright future for Canyon. Rick recalled a play his senior year when his teammate threw a long pass to Canyon.
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Rather than catch the ball and dribble, he instinctively tipped it to another teammate in front of him for an easy layup. Rick and Lynn Barry looked at each other and said, “He got it.”
Eventually, as Canyon became more skilled and his body grew, from 5-foot-8, 98 pounds as an eighth grader, to 6-5, 160 as a high school senior, to now 6-6, 215; He started leaning more towards his father. . They analyzed video, talked basketball, and explored the nuances of the game.
“Everyone asks about feeling pressured by the Barry family,” Canyon said. “But when I was a kid, it wasn't Hall of Famer Rick Barry. It was my dad.”
Canyon Barry took after her mother in some notable ways. They were both national representatives of academics. Canyon earned a bachelor's degree in physics and a master's degree in nuclear engineering. He works full time as a systems and projects engineer for a company in Melbourne, Florida that supports his Olympic ambitions.
Barry got his first “real job” after chasing his dreams. He realized that he didn't enjoy the itinerant lifestyle after he played four seasons in his G League and one year in Finland, the Czech Republic and China.
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While Canyon didn't lament falling short of the NBA, the ever-outspoken Rick Barry expressed frustration that his son wasn't being taken seriously.
“It doesn't make any sense,” Rick said. “…He never had a chance. That's why I'm so happy for him right now. He's been incredibly successful.”
Rick enjoys detouring around the canyon's 3×3 trails. Rick Barry said his biggest disappointment was not making the 1964 Olympic team after his junior year at the University of Miami. He proudly spoke about playing in an exhibition game against Russia in 1965, when he wore a jersey with “USA” written across his chest.
Canyon is now doing it regularly, and the Olympics will be his seventh 3×3 national team. He missed the 2021 Olympic qualifying tournament ahead of the Tokyo Summer Olympics due to his back injury.
He started playing 3×3 two years ago and quickly fell in love with it after helping the U.S. win a gold medal at the FIBA World Cup.
“I think I'm a much better 3-on-3 player than a 5-on-5 player,” Barry said. “I would call it a purer, more balanced game. 5-on-5 is becoming more role-specific, everyone is better at his one skill. 3-on-3 There is no place to hide.”
Or, as U.S. head coach Joe Lewandowski said, “What Canyon specializes in is versatility.”
Barry showed off his versatile skills at the FIBA World Tour opener in Japan this past weekend. On the first possession of the championship game against the Serbian team, he pretended to give a handoff to former BYU star and NBA journeyman Jimmer Fredette, then curled toward the basket without contest. I made a layup.
Barry then made two shots from beyond the arc, equating to two points on 3×3 (he led the tour in long-range shooting last year with 46%).
The game is fast, frenetic, and entertaining, with a 12-second shot clock. Teams “clear” the ball when changing possession by quickly taking it to the two-point line. The game lasts for 10 minutes or ends when either team reaches 21 points.
The environment is cool with a festival-like atmosphere with enthusiastic fans and loud music outside. The Olympic 3×3 competition will be held in La Concorde urban park, near the Eiffel Tower, in central Paris.
It will be hard to overlook Barry, the only player who can shoot free throws underhand. Rick started teaching Canyon the technique when she was 6 or 7 years old, but it wasn't until her hands got bigger and she was a senior in high school that she started using it in competition.
His half-brothers avoided practice, thinking that playing basketball as the son of Rick Barry already faced great challenges. Canyon, who was born long after Rick's career ended, embraced the idea and shot 88.3 percent from the line as a senior at Florida in 2016-17, when he was named SEC Sixth Man of the Year. (selected for the year).
Rick Barry ranks fourth in NBA history with 89.98%, behind Stephen Curry, Steve Nash, and Mark Price.
“I'm very much a math and science person, and as a personal coach I logically think that if you have one of the greatest free throw shooters of all time, you should at least try his methods.” Canyon said. “If I could have a better chance of kicking the ball in or throwing it back over my head, I would do it.
“But it’s also great to honor my dad and keep the underhand free throw alive.”
Even so, the jeers didn't stop in high school. Once, when Canyon missed a free throw attempt, a fan yelled, “You're hired!”
No, he's really Barry — and the first one heading to the Olympics.
Contact Ron Kroichick: rkroichick@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @ronkroichick