Fansided

Florida basketball lands graduate transfer from son of NBA legend Rick Barry

By Jason Parker

Dec 1, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators mascot Albert cheers with the fans during the second half against the Richmond Spiders at Stephen C. O
Dec 1, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators mascot Albert cheers with the fans during the second half against the Richmond Spiders at Stephen C. O /
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The Florida Gators will be welcoming Canyon Barry, son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry, to their basketball team as a graduate transfer.

After a 2015-16 season in which the Florida Gators men’s basketball team finished 21-15 and made it to the quarterfinals of the NIT under first year head coach Mike White, the school is getting some help to get back to the NCAA Tournament this coming year.

The help comes in the form of Canyon Barry, a guard who spent the first three years of his career playing for the College of Charleston. If the name sounds familiar, he is the son of legendary NBA star and Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry (as well as the brother of NBA veterans Jon and Brent).

In his redshirt junior season with the Cougars in 2015-16, Canyon Barry averaged just under 20 points a game, but was limited to 13 games due to a shoulder surgery. He graduated this past weekend with a 4.0 GPA, allowing him to transfer for his final season without having to sit out a year.

Why did he pick the Gators, you may ask? Well, as it turns out, one of the main reasons is because he plans on getting his masters degree in nuclear engineering and Florida offered something other schools couldn’t, according to the Miami Herald:

"“First, they have an exceptional Nuclear Engineering program and actually have one of the only nuclear training reactors in the Southeast. Secondly, I really like coach [Mike] White, his integrity, his honesty with me, and his style of play. He and I both feel that I can make an immediate contribution.”"

Canyon picked Florida over both the Northwestern Wildcats and the Miami Hurricanes where his father was an All-American and was the nation’s scoring leader his season season before starting a 15-season pro career that included winning the 1975 NBA championship and NBA Finals MVP award with the Golden State Warriors.

For more NCAA basketball news, check out our NCAA basketball hub page.