HANOVER — Brendan Barry considers himself the loyal type. That, among other things, played a role in his decision to remain with the Dartmouth College men’s basketball program for one more year.
Barry made his wishes known on Monday, opting to stay with the Big Green after missing last season following preseason hip surgery. Barry entered the NCAA transfer portal shortly after his operation; while he spent the winter working out with and traveling with his Dartmouth teammates, he vetted potential transfer options and gave two schools, Wake Forest and Temple, serious consideration.
The Big Green’s strong second half — one that left the team with an outside shot at an Ivy League tournament slot — told Barry that staying in Hanover might be the best choice.
“If I didn’t have a belief in what we’re doing at Dartmouth and I didn’t think we could win, I would have said no long ago,” Barry said on Monday evening in a phone interview from his Fair Haven, N.J., home. “I’m not coming back to be happy with making the Ivy League tournament or going .500. … We’re striving to win the Ivy League, and that’s what I’ll set my goals on and I will work at that and will challenges my coaches and teammates to work at that level.”
Barry’s return adds a significant offensive weapon to Dartmouth, which finished 12-17 and used a late-season 5-1 stretch to get into the conference tournament equation.
The Big Green ranked last in the Ancient Eight in scoring last season — and 314th out 350 NCAA Division I programs — at 65.3 points per game. Barry was the Ivies’ top 3-point gunner as a junior in 2018-19 and finished 10th in D-I in 3-point percentage (44.5%).
With Taurus Samuels developing into a trustworthy point guard, Barry won’t have to bring the ball up the floor as much, which would also reduce his league-leading 35½ minutes played per game average of two winters back.
“He showed that he is more than capable as a point guard,” Barry said. “We can switch on and off. That opens up a lot for both of us.”
Forward Chris Knight “should have been first-team all-league” especially for his second-half play, Barry added. With Knight, Samuels, Barry and swingman Aaryn Rai all returning, depth should help a Dartmouth program more than 60 years removed from its last league title.
Barry called the transfer portal process “tough.” He fielded calls from more than 50 schools, narrowed the candidates to eight and further whittled that down to Wake and Temple, both of whom he saw in game action. Both programs impressed.
But so did Barry’s Dartmouth teammates in how they closed their campaign. Barry, who will spread his four remaining classes toward a government degree over the fall and winter terms, is itching to get started.
“It’s good to have it all over with,” he said, “and set in stone.”
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.