Mike Krzyzewski and his Duke staff have added their third straight No.1 rated high school senior (Giles 2016 / Bagley 2017) with the commitment and signing of 6’7 combo guard R.J. Barrett from Montverde, FL Academy.

“He announced his commitment to Duke on TSN’s Sportscentre in Canada Friday!

“Next year, I will be attending Duke University,” Barrett said.

Duke felt most like home, just like Montverde Academy,” Barrett said. “To get to play for a great basketball team and to get a great education, you can’t ask for more!”

He chose the Blue Devils over Oregon and Kentucky. The Canada native visited all three schools this fall..

He averaged 28.0 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists, on the EYBL Circuit last spring, but really ascended to the top of all the rankings with his play this summer with Team Canada, leading his squad to their first ever U19 World Championship! He led Canada to the gold medal, while gaining MVP honors, averaging 21.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists. He went for 38 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists in a win over Team USA in the Semi-finals.

He is a superior ball handler who can play the one, two or three spots on the break or in the half-court game. He like Ben Simmons of the 76’ers has a way to either score or create that makes other players better and want to follow his lead and play with an aggressive style on both ends! He is a big-time scorer with range to the NBA arc that he utilizes to create opportunities to attack the rim or drive and kick to open teammates. His unselfish style makes him a nightmare to guard or contain a la Simmons.

He joins two other top ten prospects, No.3 Cam Reddish and No.6 rated Tre Jones in the Duke Class of 2018, and make the Blue Devils the Class to Beat in national recruiting heading into the season!