The left-handed Canadian has been compared to James Harden because of his scoring ability. Entering his senior season at Montverde (FL) Academy, he led Team Canada to a gold medal in the FIBA U19 World Championship in Egypt, beating a John Calipari-led USA team in the semifinals along the way. Barrett went for 38 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists in that game and then led Canada to its first gold medal on the international stage with a win over Italy in the final.
At Montverde, Barrett guided the team to a perfect 35-0 record as a senior, winning every major national Player of the Year and the GEICO High School Nationals along the way.
Boyle (RJ?s HS Coach, who has coached more top 3 NBA lottery picks since 2011 other than Coach K) last says people conveniently forget ? or don?t want to remember ? that Barrett won those awards, not Zion.
?People forget that R.J. Barrett was the USA Today Player of the Year,? Boyle said. ?It?s almost like you?re not allowed to mention it because that would be not pleasing to Zion.?
Boyle pointed out that Barrett led the ACC in scoring at 23.4 points per game and set the ACC freshman scoring record.
?He created some incredible stats,? Boyle said. ?He?s the all-time leading freshman scorer in the history of the ACC. I mean, who?s done that hasn?t been a star player in the NBA? So I think you?re getting a guy that?s going to be a multiple-time All-Star, a guy that?s incredibly mature on the court and off the court.?
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a fellow Canadian two years older than Barrett, called him an ?elite scorer? who will ?bring happiness to Knicks fans.?
Barrett has also drawn praise from everyone from Jalen Rose to Isiah Thomas to Coach K to Jay Bilas.
?R.J. Barrett could easily be the best player in the draft,? Rose said Wednesday on ESPN?s ?Get Up!? ?If I?m the Knicks, yes I hold on to the pick.?
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As for his character, Boyle said most players playing alongside Zion ?would?ve been upset, bitched and jealous? that Williamson got ?most of the attention.?
Instead, Barrett worked on his game, never got hurt and became best friends with Zion.
?He was happy for his teammate and just kept working and playing,? Boyle said. ?It never affected him one way or the other, and I think that?s an incredibly mature player. And I think that?s an incredible value to any NBA team, that no matter where you fall, or however much attention you get or don?t get, that you?re going to come to work, be productive, be a good teammate and play your butt off every day. I think that tells a lot about the type of career that he?s going to have, whether he ends up being a star level player or a good player. He?s going to be the same guy and compete every day.?
(RJ took over as PG when Trae Jones was out with an injury, running the offense).