Rising Young Star-RJ Barrett

With the NBA season starting and seeing a early glimpse of this year’s rookie class of players like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and this past year’s 1^st overall pick Deandre Ayton, it is also soon the upcoming US college basketball season and many people are talking about the projected number 1 draft pick for the 2019 NBA Draft, RJ Barrett. The Canadian, who is from Mississauga, Ontario, is playing for Duke University this year and probably his only year in college before heading to the pro level, he has shown his brilliance of the game of basketball at numerous levels and occasions. Regardless if it was during showcase games like Nike Hoops Summit in 2017, where Roy Rana, who coached Barrett at the Nike Hoops Summit said “A star. A potential superstar down the road”, or playing for high school teams in Canada (St. Marcellinus) or US (Montverde Academy in Florida); Barrett has delivered consistently how great he is. With finishing his high school basketball career at Montverde Academy, Barrett’s skills on the court were so impressive, not only as he named Gatorade National Player of the Year, but also named the Naismith Prep Player of the Year. With being so dominating on the court he was being recruited to potential universities, he was offered scholarships from multiple top schools. Including Duke, where he is going, he also received offers to play at schools like Oregon, Arizona, Kansas, and Kentucky, just to name a few. Note that the rising young star, who could reach superstar status when playing in the NBA does not look to have an ego, as he won the Morgan Wooten National Player of the Year award for his qualities in leadership, character, and other values of being a student athlete. These superb skills that Barrett has are not just limited to the high school level, as he led team Canada to the FIBA (Federation of International Basketball Association) Under 19 World Cup title in 2017, in which not only was he named MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the tournament, but had 38 points in the semi finals of the tournament against the US. With heading into his college basketball season with Duke, with recently being considered “the most decorated prospect since LeBron James”, this player is not only on the road to be most likely the best basketball player from Canada, but potentially even one of the top players in basketball ever. Barrett is just beginning a long and promising career of basketball, not only in the NBA, but also on the international stage. Look forward to your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments section.

Photo courtesy of TSN