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Duke Basketball: R.J. Barrett wins USA Today’s Player of the Year

By Kevin Connelly

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 16: RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils cuts down a piece of the net after defeating the Florida State Seminoles 73-63 in the championship game of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 16: RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils cuts down a piece of the net after defeating the Florida State Seminoles 73-63 in the championship game of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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The Duke Basketball freshman sensation, R.J. Barrett, was named as USA Today’s National Player of the Year for the 2018-19 season.

In a bit of a surprise, R.J. Barrett was named as the National Player of the Year by USA Today, over his teammate Zion Williamson.

Through the regular season and ACC Tournament, Barrett did not miss a game and averaged 22.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game.

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At the end of the regular season, Barrett was named the All-ACC First Team, All-ACC Freshman Team, and came in second, behind Williamson, in the ACC Player and Freshman of the Year Awards.

Zion Williamson joins R.J. Barrett on the USA Today’s First Team All-American, along with Marquette’s Markus Howard, Kansas Dedric Lawson, and Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura.

R.J. Barrett led the ACC in scoring with his 22.9 points per game, but despite missing six games, Zion Williamson was right behind him at 22.1 points per game and in Williamson’s return to the lineup last weekend, the Duke duo led the Blue Devils to an ACC Tournament Championship.

Winning the ACC Tournament along with some other losses by top teams, Duke was awarded the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Williamson was named as the MVP of the ACC Tournament, but Barrett was on the First Team All-Tournament team.

Zion Williamson was already named as the Sporting News Player of the Year and R.J. Barrett joined on the outlets All-American Team.

The two superstars are also in the running for the for the Oscar Robertson Award, the Freshman of the Year Award and the John Wooden National Player of the Year Award.

R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, and the rest of the Duke Blue Devils will be back on the court on Friday night in Columbia, South Carolina taking on the North Dakota State Bison in the Round of 64 at approximately 7:10pm ET on CBS.

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