WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former Florida Gators basketball player Canyon Barry is headed to the Paris Olympics.
The 6-foot-6 shooting guard is one of four players named to the 2024 USA Basketball 3x3 men's national team on Tuesday.
Barry, the son of NBA legend and former Miami Hurricanes star Rick Barry, won gold medals in the 2023 Pan American Games and the 2022 FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup and a silver medal in the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup.
"I just feel super blessed that the selection committee decided that they think the four of us will have the best chance to bring home the gold medal," Barry told WPTV's Todd Wilson after the announcement.
Barry, 30, began his college career at the College of Charleston and transferred to Florida for his final season of eligibility in 2016-17. He helped the Gators reach the Elite Eight in 2017, averaging 11.3 points per game.
The Colorado native set a school record with 42 consecutive free throws, surpassing South Florida native and current Gators assistant Taurean Green, in 2017.
Barry joins teammates Jimmer Fredette, Kareem Maddox and former Florida Southern player Dylan Travis.
"We are very excited and proud to announce the first USA Basketball 3x3 men's national team that will compete at the Olympics," Jay Demings, the team's director and a member of the selection committee, said in a statement. "These four athletes have impressive USA Basketball competitive results and have been tremendous representatives of our country. We appreciate all the athletes that attended training camp to compete for a spot on the roster."
Joe Lewandowski, who has coached Barry to his gold and silver wins, will serve as head coach of the USA 3x3 men's national team. Lewandowski was an All-American junior college player and two-time captain at Slippery Rock.
"Representing your country at the Olympics is the ultimate honor," Lewandowski said in a statement. "I am so happy for these guys after all the hard work and dedication they have put into 3x3 basketball. USA Basketball has the highest of standards and now the hard work begins to reach our gold-medal dream."
After going undrafted in 2017, Barry played for professional basketball teams in Finland and the Czech Republic before signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves' NBA G League team, the Iowa Wolves, in 2018.
Born of a basketball pedigree, Barry is not only the son of retired NBA star Rick Barry, but his mother is also Lynn Barry, who was a standout athlete at William & Mary. She went on to serve as an assistant at Kentucky from 1981-83 under head coach Terry Hall and spent 11 years as the assistant executive director of USA Basketball. After the women's national team won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Lynn Barry became a special advisor to the WNBA.
Rick Barry is a Hall of Fame player who is among the most prolific scorers of all time. Barry's father is the only player to lead the NCAA, the defunct American Basketball Association and NBA in points per game in a season.
The second overall pick in the 1965 NBA draft, Rick Barry spent 10 seasons in the NBA and four seasons in the ABA. He is one of just two men's basketball players to have his No. 24 jersey retired by the University of Miami.
Barry is the boyfriend of WPTV First Alert Weather meteorologist Frances Peyton.
"I'm just so proud," a tearful Peyton told WPTV.