Prospect Spotlight: Tyler Baribeau (2019)
The Mesabi East Giants feature a dynamic tandem of juniors, a week ago we profiled the backcourt half of the duo, with point guard Carson Becicka, today we’ll take a look at the frontcourt.
Last season, Tyler Baribeau was a double-double machine, averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds per game. For 17 of those games, he played without his counterpart, Becicka, who was sidelined with a broken wrist.
With another year of experience under Baribeau’s belt, coach Dan Darbo is expecting big things from the 6’6” junior. He says, “I have very high expectations for Tyler. He should average close to 20 points per game and 15 rebounds per game.”
The Giants do not have a senior on the roster this year, and coach Darbo is looking to his juniors to lead. “Tyler is a great kid. Great work ethic. I expect him to be a leader the next two years,” says Darbo.
Over the summer, Baribeau joined his high school teammate as a member of the MN Heat. Of the experience, Baribeau said it “was super fun to play with the group we had. [I] learned a lot and improved a lot. The AAU season went very well and it was a blast.”
As the stats prove, Baribeau’s strengths are his aggressiveness and ability to rebound, but he says that he has been working on improving his shooting consistency over the off-season.
Baribeau has not yet been in contact with any college programs, but says that he is looking for a “nice size college, good athletics, diverse, and a lot of activities.”
For this season, the Giants are looking to improve on a disappointing, injury-riddled 2016-2017 season that ended with a 11-15 record. Coach Darbo recognizes that a lot of the team success will hinge on the play of his two junior standouts.
Darbo states it simply that “the better he (Baribeau) plays, the better our team will be.”
Mesabi East is hoping to contend for an Iron Range Conference title this year. Whether or not that happens this season is yet to be seen, however, they have two juniors who will make them a tough team the next two seasons.