Duke Basketball: R.J. Barrett has the Week of a Lifetime
As the top high school player in the country, you’d expect to have some good weeks in your life, but this might top the list for R.J. Barrett.
It all started in Atlanta, Georgia.
R.J. Barrett arrived for the McDonald’s All-American game with high expectations on his shoulders and he sure did deliver.
Despite not taking part in any of the skills competition, three-point shootout, or dunk contest, Barrett showed why he is deserving of the top spot in the ESPN High School Basketball Rankings.
Barrett teamed up with fellow Duke commit Zion Williamson to create highlight plays and dunks all throughout the practices and scrimmages during the week.
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Their chemistry carried over to the actual game as Barrett scored 26 points in the three-point loss to the West team.
Shortly after the conclusion of the All-American game, Barrett boarded a plane to New York as his high school team, Montverde was set to compete in the Geico Nationals.
It was a less than a 24-hour turnaround, but Barrett was more than ready as Montverde took on Lone Peak in the quarterfinals. It was a battle but Montverde came out on top behind Barrett’s 33 points.
Next up was Findlay Prep in the semifinals, and Montverde rolled. Barrett put up an easy 22 points and 10 rebounds in a 71-53 route and Montverde was onto the championship round.
It was University of Fort Lauderdale that was awaiting the Montverde train, and they got steamrolled.
Barrett put up another cool 25 points and 15 rebounds in the 76-58 win. It capped off a stellar high school career for Barrett.
“It’s the cherry on top of everything that happened in my high school career and it means a lot,” Barrett told the USA Today.
It is the fourth time Montverde won the National Championship, but Barrett’s first. Naturally, he was named MVP of the tournament. Montverde also finished the season at 37-0.
So wrapping everything up over the course of the week, in four games Barrett scored a combined 106 points against the best competition out there.
Before Barrett heads to Durham for the summer, he still has the Nike Hoop Summit and the Jordan Brand Classic, where all four Duke commits will be playing on the same team.