Canyon Barry came up clutch in the final moments of UF's Sweet 16 victory over Wisconsin. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/For UAA Communications)
Barry's Garden Moment Key to Gators Reaching Elite Eight
Saturday, March 25, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Scott Carter
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Canyon Barry came off the bench late in overtime and delivered a clutch performance.
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
NEW YORK – The Gators were on the brink of elimination and for fifth-year senior Canyon Barry, that meant the end of his college basketball career as he entered the game with 100 seconds left in overtime.
The Gators trailed by five and Wisconsin clearly the owner of momentum at Madison Square Garden. When Barry checked in, his primary contribution to that point was three points and sharing encouragement from the bench.
Still, Gators coach Mike White wanted Barry on the floor as the season slipped away in the Sweet 16.
"We just want our best offensive players out there,'' White said Saturday. "Canyon is one of our better two or three offensive players for sure. He's had huge games for us."
Seven seconds later, Barry's driving layup trimmed the lead to three. The Badgers responded with a pair of free throws by Zak Showalter to push the margin back to five. The lead was down to four when Barry got fouled with 38 seconds left by Jordan Hill.
He showed off his patented under-handed technique made famous by his father, Rick Barry, who in 1965 as an NBA rookie with the San Francisco Warriors, scored 57 points in the old Madison Square Garden which was replaced by the current Garden in 1968.
Barry made both free throws and suddenly Wisconsin's lead had shrunk to two. What came next was Barry's signature moment for the Gators, only trumped in Florida's 84-83 overtime win by Chris Chiozza's game-winning buzzer-beater to lift Florida into the Elite Eight on Sunday against South Carolina.
Canyon Barry is pumped after his play in overtime against Wisconsin. (Photo: Andre Larrow/For UAA Communications)
Wisconsin's Khalil Iverson, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, broke free and took a long pass toward the basket. Barry sprinted to catch up to Iverson and blocked his shot, which was grabbed by Chiozza.
"I'm just happy I made it. I think everybody was kind of shocked and surprised,'' Barry said in the locker room Saturday as he waited on practice to start. "I don't think they would peg me for a game-saving block but I'm happy I could get one when it counted."
The 6-foot-6 Barry, who plays with both knees covered by pads and is not exactly known for vertical adventures, entered the game with 12 blocks on the season.
How did he do it?
"It's just an instinct play,'' he said early Saturday morning in an ecstatic Gators locker room. "It happened so fast. I just jumped as high as I could and got all ball. Fortunately, the refs saw that I didn't foul him and came up with a clean block."
His teammates immediately came up with a new nickname for Barry, a graduate transfer from College of Charleston who was named the SEC's Sixth Man of the Year in his only season at UF.
"That was Canyon James,'' said Kasey Hill, offering a salute to NBA great LeBron James, known for his ability to track down players from behind and block their shots. "That was a great block. I'm happy he didn't just give up on the play or go down and foul."
White had a foul in mind when he saw the play unfold.
"While I'm screaming 'foul him, foul him,' he goes and blocks the shot,'' White said. "Was enormous."
After Chiozza grabbed the rebound, he dribbled up the court, paused and then blew by Iverson at the other end for a layup to tie the game 81-81 with 24 seconds left.
After Nigel Hayes hit a pair of free throws to regain the lead for Wisconsin, it was Barry who inbounded the ball to Chiozza for the final shot. Barry had the option of passing to Hill, who was double-teamed, or the speedy Chiozza with only one defender on him.
He chose Chiozza and the rest is March Madness history.
"He made the right play,'' White said. "Could have easily thrown it to Kasey and wouldn't have gotten the shot off. We would probably have got a half-court shot off."
Barry's end-of-game heroics made up for an otherwise nondescript performance. He finished with seven points and one rebound in 16 minutes. He spent long stretches on the bench in the second half after going scoreless in the opening 20 minutes.
"But he's not over there sulking,'' White said.
That's not Barry's style. He grew up around the game and as the son of an NBA Hall of Famer, understands roles.
"Throughout the game, Coach really didn't call my number but you have to be ready when your number is called,'' Barry said. "At the end of the game he looked to me and I was able to spark the team. I had to stay locked into the game."
Canyon James came through when he had to.
"It proves how bad do you want to win,'' teammate Kevarrius Hayes said. "Canyon, even though it was a change of possession, he didn't give up. He kept playing. He just knew he had to make something happen. Without that block, we probably wouldn't be sitting here so high on emotion right now."
On a cool late March evening and early morning at the game's most famous mecca, Barry experienced his moment like his father more than 50 years ago.
Afterward, Rick Barry shared in the experience.
"He was just really happy for me and happy for this team,'' Canyon said. "He loved playing in the Garden because the Knicks didn't draft him and he kind of had a chip on his shoulder every time he played here and had some big games."
