When coaches talk about Rigby sophomore Kambree Barber they always mention one attribute — versatility.
“She’s just versatile,” said Madison head coach Luke Sutton, whose Bobcats fell to the Trojans twice in the regular season and once in the 5A District 5-6 tournament. “She drives really well. She plays excellent defense. She can post up. She can hit the outside shot. She just has a lot of strengths. You can’t just take one thing away.”
Barber, the Post Register All-Area Girls Basketball Player of the Year, used her 6-foot height, 6-2 wingspan and elite athleticism to score on all three levels of the court.
“She’s really athletic,” said Blackfoot head coach Raimee Odum, whose team played the Trojans twice. “She can score the ball in multiple areas of the court.”
Barber averaged 18.2 points. She also snagged 13.1 rebounds per game, second best among all-state players, despite playing on the wing. And served up 5.0 assists per game, best among all-state players, despite not playing point guard like other assist leaders.
Barber guarded some of the other all-state players from 4A and 5A like Aspen Caldwell, Kianna Wright and Shay Shippen.
Hard work catalyzed the sophomore’s success on the way to High Country Conference Player of the Year and 5A second-team All-State accolades.
“She always hustles”, Thunder Ridge head coach Jeremy Spencer said. “There’s not a play where she’s jogging down the floor. Her effort was always fantastic and she’s always engaged. Once she made her mind up of getting to the rim she’s tough to stop.”
Rigby played one of the toughest schedules in the state, facing Blackfoot and Thunder Ridge twice each. Neither the Titans nor the Broncos lost a single game in the regular season, except to each other and Rigby. The Trojans’ other loss came at the hands of Utah power Lehi, which finished second in Utah’s 5A division.
One of the Trojans most devastating losses came at the hands of Thunder Ridge in the 5A District 6 final (60-49), but Rigby bounced back nine days later beating the Titans 62-47 in the first round of the 5A state tournament. Barber’s leadership played a key role in that win.
“I think our whole team came in not being selfish,” Barber said. “We were hyped to play a team we were playing all season.”
Rigby fell to Timberline (5A state champions) and No. 1 seeded Lake City in its final two games of the 5A state tournament — arguably the two best teams in the tournament.
Barber’s arsenal of attribute’s can strike fear into the heart of any defender, but the scariest thing about her skillset? She still has two years on the preps court to improve.
“I feel like I need to be better next year,” Barber said. “All the other girls are getting better so I need to get better as well.”
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