Men's Basketball | 9/23/2021 10:00:00 AM

MIAMI SHORES, Fla.— Today director of athletics Michael L. Covone announced Dante Calabria resigned as the assistant men's basketball coach.

"I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to coach Calabria for the dedication and hard work that he put into the Barry University men's basketball program over the last two and half years," Barry head coach Butch Estes said. "I treasure our friendship and look forward to continuing our relationship for many years to come."

Calabria spent parts of two seasons with the Bucs, helping lead them to a 20-15 record. Justinas Marcinkevicius and Jake Kakar both earned second-team All-Sunshine State Conference honors in 2021, while Tylan Birts was a first-team pick in 2020. He leaves to pursue opportunities outside coaching.

In addition to serving under Barry head coach Butch Estes, Calabria has worked with some of the best in the business, having been an assistant under Larry Brown with Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino basketball club in Italy's Lega Basket Serie A, and Rollie Massimino at Keiser University in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Calabria played at North Carolina under another all-time great in Dean Smith. During his time, he was a member of the 1993 NCAA Championship team. Calabria was also a part of two Final Four teams (1993 and 1995) and competed in three Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship games, winning the title in 1994. As a senior, he earned Third-Team All-ACC honors, shooting 49.6 percent from three-point range, still a Tarheel record.

After graduation, Calabria spent 16 years as a professional basketball player in Italy, Spain, Greece, and France. He was a five-time all-star during his professional career. He was also a member of the Italian National team, helping lead them to the 2005 European Championship.

Calabria earned his B.S. degree in business administration from North Carolina in 1996.

Barry will begin an immediate search for his replacement.