Senior Kyle Barone’s career with the Idaho men’s basketball team continues to one filled with honors as the 6-foot-10 center was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year after being voted the league’s best player by the WAC’s 10 head coaches this past week.
Leading the conference in scoring and rebounding, Barone averaged 18.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per game against WAC opponents in conference play. He also ranked second in the league in field goal percentage at 58.3, fourth in free throw percentage at 80.9, and eighth in blocks with 1.1 per game. Barone becomes the first player in Idaho’s history to be named the WAC Player of the Year.
Originally from Garden Grove, Calif, Barone scored a career-high 27 points on two different occasions this season, recorded 16 double-doubles (eighth most in the NCAA), scored 20 or more points in nine games and had eight 20-point, 10 rebound games. His 59.0 field goal percentage for the season was the eight-best in school history for a single-season, and his 155 free throws mad are the fourth-most for any Vandal player.
Never missing a game in his four-year career, Barone is Idaho’s career-leader in games played with 126. His 1,433 career points rank fourth in program history, while is 869 career rebounds rank second, just 7 shy of the all-time record of 876 held be Deon Watson.
Barone, a two-time WAC Player of the Week this season, also was a first-team All-WAC selection and was the only Vandal named to any of the All-WAC teams. Barone was a second-team All-WAC selection during the 2011-12 seasons and was named an honorable mention for All-WAC in 2010-11. Barone was a first-team Western Athletic Conference choice of CollegeSportsMadness.com
The Idaho men’s basketball team ended their season this past Thursday with a humbling 65-49 loss to New Mexico State in the quarterfinals of the WAC conference tournament.
Comments