Prospect Spotlight: Tristan Backas (2019)
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Dayton is home to many athletes that score double-doubles on any given night. Monroe High School senior Tristan Backas (2019) is one of them. Capable of beating any defender with his wide variety of skills, Tristan is one of the top players in Dayton and is an under-the-radar prospect with massive upside.
When he’s not playing for Ohio Tar Heels Elite, Tristan can be found at a basketball camp or running through drills on his own. Specifically, he is trying to improve as a ball handler and improve his shooting consistency. Although possessing a decent 3PT shot, Backas definitely will need to improve his shooting consistency all around. One game he would knock down 9-10 shots and then the next game he would knock down 4-10 shots. Although defenses adjust, he needs to get more of a rhythm down.
Tristan has a wide variety of skills, especially on the offensive end. He averaged 17 points per game and scored double digits in all but 2 games last season. At 6’3, Backas is big enough to take advantage of size disadvantages and small enough to be a defensive nightmare.
“Another part of my game I do well is passing”, Tristan told me when I asked what he specifically felt he did well.
Defensively, Tristan can take over a game as well. The 2nd best rebounder in the SWBL one year ago, he averaged 10 boards a game and was 4th in the league in blocks with 2 per game. With all these skills, one may think Tristan has a lot of pressure to be a go-to-guy for the Hornets. Instead Tristan has handled it with ease.
“Coach Molz put the weight on my shoulders since last year, so I just embrace it and go out and play”.
Moving forward, Tristan has some very big but serious goals.
“As a team we want to try and win a league title and get far in the state tournament…individually I want to be player of the year and just be the best player I can be to my teammates”.
With this mindset Tristan will more than likely attract his first college offer early in the year. He is a guy to keep an eye on moving forward.