Cheyenne Mountain grad Canyon Barry competing at USA Basketball 3X Nationals with eyes on Olympics
The last name “Barry” is synonymous with basketball.
Rick Barry was an eight-time NBA All Star and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. All five of his sons — Scooter, Jon, Brent, Drew and Canyon — have played at the professional level.
Canyon, the youngest of Rick’s sons, is now paving a path unique to any of his relatives.
A 28-year-old Cheyenne Mountain graduate, Barry has played FIBA 3×3 basketball since 2019.
3×3 is a variation of basketball where teams have three players on the court at all times. The first team to score 21 points (baskets count for one or two points instead of two and three) wins the game.
“It’s nice to do something that the Barrys haven’t done,” Barry said.
Barry, along with teammates Jimmer Fredette, Kareem Maddox and Dylan Travis, will compete at USA Basketball 3X Nationals at Reid Arena in Colorado Springs on Saturday and Sunday.
Barry likes to stay true to his family. Rick Barry popularized the “granny” style of underhand free throws during his career, and Canyon shoots every free-throw attempt underhanded.
He is happy to be taking the family legacy in a new direction.
“Obviously my family has accomplished a lot in the basketball world,” Barry said. “I’m very blessed to have their tutelage and mentorship growing up. Now it’s nice to kind of try to build my own path and have gold medals for my country.”
Introduction to 3-on-3
After Cheyenne Mountain, Barry played at College of Charleston for three seasons. He averaged 19.7 points per game in his third year at CoC before transferring to Florida as a graduate student.
Barry helped the Gators reach the Elite 8 in the 2016-17 season, averaging 11.4 points per game.
After that, Barry played three years overseas before joining the Iowa Wolves, the NBA G League affiliate of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played in Iowa from 2018-2022.
He began playing 3×3 in 2019 while juggling his 5-on-5 professional career. And the more Barry played 3-on-3, the more he fell in love with it.
Barry saw instant success in the 3×3 realm, helping Team USA win the 2019 3X3 FIBA World Cup — the United States’ first gold medal in the event. Since then, Barry has competed in various international events, in addition to competing on the FIBA 3×3 World Tour the past two seasons.
Barry believes his proficiency in various areas of his game has allowed him to thrive in a style of basketball that is new to him.
“I like to think of myself as a jack of all trades,” Barry said. “There’s nowhere to hide on the court defensively; you have to be able to pass, screen, dribble, rebound, move without the ball and shoot. I think it suits my skill set well because I pride myself on being good in every area of the game.”
Assembling a team
In his five years playing 3-on-3 basketball, Barry has played with a slew of teammates from different backgrounds.
His newest team, Team Miami, features four former college basketball players who each bring a different role to the team.
The team first joined in the fall for the FIBA Americup, where Team Miami won the gold medal. Team Miami will look to go 2-for-2 on gold medals in Barry’s hometown.
“I’m excited to be able to come back here with a new team,” Barry said.
Fredette was a sensation at Brigham Young University, where he played four seasons and averaged 28 points per game as a senior. He holds several BYU career records, including most three-point field goals, most 40-point games and most 30-point games.
He won consensus national college basketball player of the year as a senior.
Fredette played professionally for almost a decade in the NBA, NBA G League and overseas before recently transitioning to the 3-on-3 game.
Now 34 years old, Fredette sees 3×3 basketball as a style where he can excel.
“There’s a lot of space,” Fredette said. “It’s all about skill, being able to pass the ball and reading situations. If you can get in space, it’s hard to guard. I think that plays into my game.”
Barry and Maddox have played together since 2019. They were both members of their former World Tour team, Team Princeton.
Maddox played four years of college basketball at Princeton, where he led the Tigers in scoring as a senior.
And Travis is a graduate of Florida Southern College. He played on rival 3×3 teams against Barry and Maddox in past years before joining forces with them in the fall.
“I think this team has good chemistry,” Fredette said.
Going for gold
Barry, who now lives in Florida, has been hard at work since returning to his hometown. But the Cheyenne Mountain grad has still treated it like a homecoming.
Family friends picked him up from the airport, and he had the chance to also visit one of his best friends from high school. Barry has also enjoyed seeing how much Colorado Springs — downtown in particular — has developed since he lived there.
“It’s a great place, and it’s always fun to come back,” Barry said.
Team Miami is one of 12 men’s teams competing at Nationals in Colorado Springs — and the stakes will be high.
The winning team will earn the title of national champion and earn FIBA points that affect their rankings. The winner also secures a bid to the Edmonton Masters World Tour event in July.
Team Miami’s goals span far beyond this weekend, though: Barry, Fredette, Maddox and Travis hope to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
3×3 basketball became an Olympic sport for the first time at the Tokyo 2020 Games. The United States didn’t qualify, though, as Latvia won the gold medal.
Success along the way is a necessity for reaching these lofty goals, but Team Miami’s ultimate aspiration is to reach the podium in Paris as the United States’ first Olympic medal-winning team.
“That’s been the goal since the start, but that’s a long road and 3-on-3 is a marathon,” Barry said. “Really, the goal for this weekend is to try and get more chemistry.
“Really, the goal for this weekend is to try and get more chemistry. We’ve only played one tournament with this team. Every time we step on the court, we have to continue to get better, continue to build chemistry and obviously our goal is to try and win this.”
Canyon Barry attempts a layup against Kareem Maddox at 3X Nationals practice Thursday.
Canyon Barry shoots a free throw “granny style” at 3X Nationals practice at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center on Thursday, May 4, 2023.
Dylan Travis, Jimmer Fredette and Canyon Barry laugh at 3X Nationals practice at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center on Thursday, May 4, 2023.
Canyon Barry attempts a layup at 3X Nationals practice at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center on Thursday, May 4, 2023.
Canyon Barry shoots a 3-pointer Thursday at 3X Nationals practice at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center.
Canyon Barry (right) grabs a rebound in front of Robbie Hummel at 3X Nationals practice at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center on Thursday, May 4, 2023.
Canyon Barry tries to break free from Jimmer Fredette, left, and Kareem Maddox at 3X Nationals practice Thursday at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
