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Duke Basketball: R.J. Barrett enjoying best stretch of the season

By Chad Wickham

SYRACUSE, NY - FEBRUARY 23: RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts to a play against the Syracuse Orange during the second half at the Carrier Dome on February 23, 2019 in Syracuse, New York. Duke defeated Syracuse 75-65. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY - FEBRUARY 23: RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts to a play against the Syracuse Orange during the second half at the Carrier Dome on February 23, 2019 in Syracuse, New York. Duke defeated Syracuse 75-65. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images) /
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The star Duke Basketball freshman, R.J. Barrett, is in the midst of this best stretch of games this season and the Blue Devils need that to continue going into March.

Duke freshman R.J. Barrett was recently named the ACC Freshman of the Week after back to back 30 point games against North Carolina and Syracuse. Those performances came during his best three game stretch of the year so far.

With Zion Williamson playing like nobody we have ever seen before and becoming the undisputed No. 1 draft pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, a lot of people have been questioning Barrett’s play this season — wondering if he has hurt his draft stock in his lone year in college.

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Although Barrett does have his flaws, he has done nothing to hurt his draft position this season and will likely be picked right after Williamson. His recent play should remind people that this is the same kid that dominated Team USA in the FIBA U19 Championships in 2017, was the consensus number one recruit coming into the year and will likely be a First Team All-American.

And with Williamson still out, Barrett is picking a great time to be playing his best basketball of the year.

Over the past three games, Barrett is averaging 28.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 7 assists per game. He has also been efficient during this stretch, shooting 56 percent from the field and 82 percent from the line.

In his best game of the season — the triple double, zero turnover game against NC State – his usage was just 24 percent to go along with a 149 offensive rating, so he proved that he can still be one of the best players in the country when the offense isn’t running through him every possession.

His lower usage recently could be a trend. Over the past six games, Barrett’s highest usage was just 33 percent. He is a completely different player when he isn’t forcing shots — his biggest flaw that I mentioned earlier — and is moving the ball and creating for others.

Barrett not forcing things and making plays for others was the reason Duke was able to win Saturday against Syracuse. He continually made the right play.

Although he wasn’t as efficient in the other three games during this six game stretch, it’s still an encouraging sign to see him rein it in a little bit.

What is happening with Barrett currently reminds me of what Jayson Tatum went through in his only season at Duke. Tatum struggled with shot selection the first half of the season but eventually figured it out towards the end of the year and became one of the better players in the country.

Hopefully we are seeing the same thing happen with Barrett right now and if he can maintain this efficiency when Williamson comes back, then watch out.

R.J. Barrett and the rest of the Blue Devils are back on the floor Tuesday night in Virginia, taking on the Virginia Tech Hokies at 7:00pm ET on ESPN.

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