Barbeau's hoop dreams
By Paul Svoboda, Sports Editor
Friday April 13 2012
It started with a toy.
Ryan Barbeau remembers goofing around with a Fisher Price basketball net when he was two or three years old.
“My mom says I loved it,” he said. “Maybe that’s where it all began.”
Now, another period of an impressive basketball career has ended for the Nicholson Catholic College graduate while another could just be starting.
Barbeau recently completed his five-year college hoops career at the University of Western Ontario in London where he leaves as 2011-12 Mustangs MVP and winner of the Craig Boydell Trophy for community involvement, academics and leadership.
While he’s keen on someday becoming a coach, like his father, Jim Barbeau, a longtime mentor for Crusaders teams at NCC, the younger Barbeau could first make a detour to Europe.
“I hope to be playing professionally there next year,” said Barbeau. “I have an agent now and he’s been contacting teams for me and I’m beginning to receive e-mails from a number of teams.
“It’s always been my dream to be able to call myself a professional basketball player. To have that chance is pretty unbelievable.”
That said, Barbeau’s career to this point would seem to suggest that playing in the pros is the next logical step.
After helping Nicholson teams win three consecutive OFSAA titles, from 2005-07, Barbeau landed in London and barely missed a beat. He leaves Western after scoring 1,338 career points — including leading the nation this season with 483.
Over his CIS career, Barbeau, a point guard, averaged 13 PPG and four assists. Five times this season he scored 30-plus points — including a 46-point effort against Waterloo (40 in the second half) and 41 versus Laurentian.
Barbeau was a two-time OUA West All-Star, played in the national semi-finals as a freshman and sophomore, and was a three-year starter and captain.
He also knows how to play hurt. In January, it was revealed that the CIS scoring leader was playing through a stress fracture.
In an interview with London Free Press sports reporter, Morris Dalla Costa, Western coach Brad Campbell suggested Barbeau’s stoicism and ability to play through pain was not a surprise after five years in London.
“That’s Ryan,” said Campbell. “We meet with trainers, and trainers get to know different personalities. If Ryan’s injured, it’s 10 times worse than he would admit.
“He’s that tough.”
While Barbeau ponders his future, on and off the basketball court, The Intelligencer played some one-on-one, Q and A style, with the five-foot-10 athlete:
Q: How was the transition from high school to university hoops?
A: “Definitely harder than I thought. I was pretty small coming out of high school at 5-10 and 150 pounds. The physicality of university basketball was something I’d never experienced. It was an adjustment.”
Q: What are your greatest strengths on the court?
A: “I think my leadership and my ability to score and pass, and handle the ball. I wish I was better at rebounding, although I got better over my career.”
Q: What do you enjoy most about basketball?
A: “The competitiveness and physicality. Many people don’t realize how physical it really is, and being one of the smaller guys on the court, I had to become stronger and willing to accept the fact I was going to get knocked down more than anyone else. The competitive aspect has always been one of my favourite parts of playing basketball. I hate losing — at anything — and when I play, I try to do whatever I can to ensure the success of my team.”
Q: Other than the Fisher Price toy, what are your earliest hoop memories?
A: “I’d say playing for the Belleville Spirits from about Grade 4 until the end of high school. When we started out, we rarely won any games. But it was during these early years that I started playing with guys like Aaron Chapman, Ryan Boers and Tim Helferty — sorry if I left some people out. Those were the guys I’d go on to play high school ball with and became best friends with.”
Q: What do you miss most about those championship high school days?
A: “Playing with my best friends and, obviously, having my dad as my coach.”
Q: Speaking of your dad, how key was he in your basketball development?
A: “He’s been to almost every single one of my university games. But having him as a coach did more for me than anything else, in terms of my growth as a player.”
Q: Back to the high school days. Do you guys still keep in touch?
A: “I keep in contact with just about all the guys from those OFSAA teams. Where there’s a chance to get together, we never hesitate. Many of those guys are the best friends I’ve had. Others are really good friends. Winning OFSAA created a bond that’ll be extremely hard to break.”
Q: What about this potential shot at pro ball? That’s got to be an exciting possibility?
A: “Initially what happens is you start in a league somewhere and based on how you perform there’s the opportunity to move up leagues and make more money. That’s what I hope to do. I want to continue playing the sport I love — and, get paid for it. It’s an opportunity that many people don’t get in their lives.”
Q: What about coaching? Your UWO coach says you’re a natural.
A: “One day, I’d love to coach high school basketball. The game has given me so much. I want to give back, at some point. Seeing how great a job my dad did at Nicholson over the years also makes me want to try and see if, maybe, I can do that as well. I’ve seen the way basketball helps develop kids — not only as players, but as people. It’s definitely something I see myself doing, some day.”
Q: What advice would you give a child who enjoys the game and wants to play at the highest level they can attain?
A: “As I’ve said to kids who come to summer basketball camps, if you want to play high-level basketball, there’s absolutely nothing stopping you. I’m a prime example that height means nothing. It’s all about your passion and your desire to want to play the game. Nothing is stopping you from picking up a ball and working on your dribbling, or finding a hoop outside or in the gym and working on your shooting. If you want to play at a high level, you’ve got to have a very good work ethic. And, if you’re willing to put the time into your game, than you’re going to see results and be successful.”
Q: How’d you do in your NCAA pool this year?
A: “I actually didn’t participate. If I’m constantly watching games and hoping one team wins, I drive myself crazy and can’t enjoy the games. But, I absolutely knew Kentucky was going to win.”
QUICK HITS
Name: Ryan Barbeau.
Hometown: Belleville.
Sport: Basketball
Education: Graduated NCC; studying philosophy at UWO.
Career goal: Youth worker.
Favourite food: “My mom’s spaghetti and meatballs.”
Favourite TV show: Suits.
Hobbies: Conducting basketball skills clinics at schools in London.
Place on earth I’d most like to visit: Italy and the Dead Sea.
Best advice I ever got: “If you want to be the best, nothing is in your way — except yourself.”
Need to know: “I’m a neat freak. And, I love chick flicks.”
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