Brendan Barry transferring back to Dartmouth
After one season at Temple, Brendan Barry is transferring back to Dartmouth for his final year of eligibility, OwlScoop.com has learned.
The grad transfer left behind an impressive career with the Big Green because of a longstanding Ivy League policy against graduate students competing in athletics, coupled with the league canceling its 2020-21 season due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barry was picked up by the Owls by way of the transfer portal last year, announcing his commitment in mid-November. He was unable to join his new team until completing his undergraduate studies following the completion of his last final for the fall semester.
He had only two practices of preparation before Temple’s postponed season opener on Dec. 19 when the Owls hosted NJIT. It was Barry's first live-action in a year-and-a-half, and he went on to see the floor in each game for the duration of the Owls’ 5-11, shortened season.
In a word, the 6-2, 180-pound guard described this past year as, “interesting.”
He had nothing but high praise for his teammates, the coaching staff, support staff, academic help and each of his teammates who helped make his transition easier.
But at the end of the day Temple may not have been the most suitable landing spot.
“There were some ups and downs and the fit probably wasn’t great in terms of my skillset and kind of what their focus is as a team and as a program,” he said. “I feel like I could have played better but at the same time, I’m proud of myself for going in on that short of notice and making an impact. I’m super grateful that I had that opportunity.”
The lack of practice time together rationalizes how difficult it was for him to get acclimated into a completely new system and environment. Barry was only with Temple basketball for about three months, which made it tough to adapt, learn and thrive with his new team.
He said in talking with head coach Aaron McKie and assistant coach Jimmy Fenerty after the conclusion of the season that they both were adamant they’d love for him to return. But with Hysier Miller, a highly regarded point guard coming in the 2021 recruiting class, joining an already crowded backcourt, the writing was on the wall with his potential playtime thinning out.
Barry is making his return to Hanover, New Hampshire with the caveat that he had to file waivers and be accepted by Ivy League compliance to be grandfathered into the graduate student-athlete rule change.
Now that the transfer back to Dartmouth is official, Barry feels like he has some unfinished business.
“I felt almost robbed of the opportunity to accomplish what I wanted to accomplish there,” Barry told OwlScoop.com. “I don’t think Dartmouth has had a winning season in 20-plus years and going in you think you’re going to be the class, and part of the group, to change that.”
Barry’s time at Temple won’t go overlooked. He provided a legitimate lift off the bench as a pure-shooting guard with veteran experience.
“They’re a very young team and a guy like me, I've played over 2,500 college minutes. I've been through it, I've seen it all,” Barry told OwlScoop.com when he first committed. “I've spent four years going over scouting reports and reading defenses, seeing what the right defense is and right ball scheme coverage. I've been through a lot, and I've had all these experiences.”
He was right. He joined a backcourt consisting of a true freshman in Jeremiah Williams, a redshirt freshman in Damian Dunn with 18 minutes of Division I experience and a transfer sophomore from Butler in Khalif Battle who missed the first few weeks of the season due to a hamstring injury.
Barry finished his lone season at Temple leading the team in 3-point percentage (45.3) and free-throw percentage (92.9). He averaged 6.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists at 27.3 minutes per game.
Perhaps his biggest contribution, and the stretch he’ll be most remembered for by Temple fans, was nearly single-handedly saving Temple’s season in the opening round of the American Athletic Conference tournament in Fort Worth, Texas back in March.
With the Owls trailing by 11 around the two-minute mark, Barry found the bottom of the net on three consecutive triples cutting the deficit to just two. A controversial call and missed opportunity for a game-winner in the final seconds nullified the excitement Barry ignited and Temple’s season was over, falling to USF 73-71.
The Fair Haven, New Jersey native is rejoining a Dartmouth program where he’s ranked No. 7 on the all-time 3-pointers made list with 159 in the span of three seasons. One more season with the Big Green gives Barry a chance to chase a top-5 spot on that list, which would call for 38 threes in a single season.