Shooting pain
UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL: Mustangs' Ryan Barbeau leads league in minutes and scoring
He's leading Ontario university men's basketball in scoring average.
He's second in field goals made.
He leads the league in minutes played.
It's probably Western guard Ryan Barbeau's best season.
He's doing it all with stress fractures in both legs.
It's really hard to believe.
Barbeau needs two months of complete rest for the legs to heal. But the most he will concede to the painful injury is sitting out most practices, although he isn't willing to concede even that completely. He has been forced to sit out two games when it was an afternoon start after a game the night before.
But even at practice, he'll try and steal 10 minutes on the floor for the less strenuous activity until the coaches kick him off.
He takes the basketball before, during and after practice and just keeps shooting. When a game or practice is done, he heads for a 20-minute ice bath, two times a day.
A week ago against Guelph, Barbeau collapsed on the floor. He had to drag his legs to get himself upright. He hobbled off for about 30 seconds but at the first opportunity came back on. He'd missed all of 30 seconds of the 40-minute game.
"It's pretty painful," Barbeau said. "It feels like little knives but it's also that mental feeling knowing that that bone can snap at any time. It's a weird feeling. The bones are pretty weak."
So what the heck are you doing?
"I don't know. I actually don't," he said. "If this wasn't my last year I probably wouldn't do it. If I had a year left I would have shut it down a long time ago. But I want to finish nice and strong."
The Belleville native is saving his best for last. He's tough. It's rare when he isn't sporting a black eye, cuts or some sort of bruise or sprain. In his fifth year, he's blossomed into one of the top guards in the province, even when playing on two bad legs.
"There's the one player that you can coax into thinking they are injured, then there's the other that at the end of the season, you didn't even know he was injured. That's Ryan," said Mustangs' coach Brad Campbell. "We meet with trainers and the trainers get to know different personalities. If Ryan is injured, it's 10 times worse than he would admit because he's that tough."
Barbeau has moved to an elite level. He's always been a slick ball handler who can shoot and doesn't mind working inside against the big people.
His numbers suggest something far better this year. He's leading the league in scoring at almost 23 points a game. He averages almost 36 minutes a game.
"I wish I could do more to help the team make the playoffs," he said.
Like maybe play a full 40 minutes?
"I try not to think about (the injury)," Barbeau said. "I don't think about it during the games at all. I put it in the back of my mind.
"The doctors say play at your own risk. I'm going to play. I have this year and then who knows."
When Barbeau takes to the floor, his legs are completely wrapped or bandaged.
"My numbers are pretty good. I'm playing the best I can under the circumstances," he said. "I think I could do better if I was healthy. My mobility would be a lot better. My defence would be a lot better.
"Other teams pick up full court. I'm not sure if that's the strategy because of the legs or not. . . . They think if they can pick up the pace they can wear us down a little bit. But it's not going to affect me. I'm just going to do what I do."
Barbeau leads this team by example. But he's also developed into a more vocal leader. Becoming a leader is something he's proud of and something coach Campbell appreciates.
"The first year here, he hardly spoke. He came in as almost a mute," Campbell said. "He's really matured into that (leadership) role. It was so noticeable because he was so silent. Over the five-year period he's matured and developed into an extension of the coach. He's very vocal and been outstanding helping to coach our young team."
All Barbeau wants is to get this team into the playoffs. After that, he says, anything can happen.
Helping to get this team there would be a nice conclusion to his university career. He names his two trips to the nationals as a highlight as well as the last three years as captain and leader of the team.
"You know, the last five years have been a special moment for me."
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MUSTANG BASKETBALL
Wednesday at Alumni Hall
6 p.m.: Women, Western vs. Windsor
8 p.m.: Men, Western vs. Windsor
E-mail morris.dallacosta@sunmedia.ca, or follow MoDaCoatLFPress on Twitter.
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