Athlete of the Week is St. Mary's Taryn Barbot

Taryn Barbot was in motion all over the basketball court Tuesday night inside St. Mary’s gym, helping the Gaels claim a one-sided win.

This time, she delivered 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a 60-33 victory over St. Anthony’s in Manhasset.

“She’s like a Swiss army knife,” Gaels coach Kevin White said. “She does everything. She rebounds. She defends. She passes. She gets her teammates involved. She scores.”

Barbot announced her presence loudly as a freshman, hitting a three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left to beat St. John the Baptist in the NSCHSAA title game at Hofstra. 

Now she’s a 5-9 senior guard with a 2021-22 state CHSAA AA championship ring and a D-I scholarship to Charleston. There’s a good reason why Newsday’s Athlete of the Week is where she is right now.

“She’s come in and made herself (from) when she was a freshman through all her hard work and dedication into a mid-major Division I player,” White said. “She constantly works on her weaknesses in her game to get better. She listens to everything you say. She just absorbs instruction. She’s an old-school type of kid.”

The Gaels were 11-4 overall and 5-0 in the league through Thursday’s play, and Barbot’s round numbers were sparkling — 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists per game.

“I take a lot of pride into it because I want to help my team,” she said of her varied contributions.

Barbot, who moved to Floral Park from Queens in sixth grade, passed the 1,000-point milestone this month. 

“I really wanted to get a thousand points,” Barbot said. “I feel like my hard work stood out for it. It showed.” 

Teams that face St. Mary’s have twin problems. Taryn’s fraternal twin, Taylor, is a standout, too.

“Taylor is more of the point guard,” Taryn said. “But if she’s out, then I’ll play the point guard position … Anywhere that Kevin wants me, I’m there.” 

The older sister?

“Me by a minute,” Taryn said.

They have been playing together since the first grade. 

“We kind of have a connection on the court, so that helps,” Taryn said.

They will continue having that connection as teammates at Charleston. But this wasn’t a package deal.

“It didn’t really matter if we went to school together or not,” Taryn said. “We just wanted to see what was the best fit for both of us. Charleston was the best fit for both of us.”