After claiming the Naismith and Morgan Wootten Player of the Year awards, Duke commit R.J. Barrett continues claiming other major national accolades. On Friday it was announced that the 6-7 wing is also the recipient of the 2018 Gatorade National Player of the Year award.
See below for Gatorade’s announcement:
In its 33rd year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, today announced R.J. Barrett of Montverde Academy as its 2017-18 Gatorade Florida Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Barrett is the second Gatorade Florida Boys Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Montverde Academy.
The 6-foot-7, 200-pound senior guard has led the Eagles to a 32-0 record and the No. 1 spot in the USA Today Super 25 Expert Rankings. Barrett has averaged 28.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, two blocks and 1.5 steals a game for the Eagles, who will play in the GEICO High School Basketball Nationals quarterfinals, scheduled for March 29. A McDonald’s All-American, Naismith Trophy winner, and the No. 1 prospect in the country according to the ESPN 100, Barrett starred last summer for Canada’s U19 team and led that squad to its first FIBA World Championship medal.
Barrett has volunteered locally with the Montverde Lower School Basketball Buddies program, the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and on behalf of the South Lake Church of Christ in Clermont, Fla. “R.J.’s combination of size, strength, power and skill—along with his aggressive, ‘down-hill’ mentality—make him a LeBron James-like opponent at the high school level,” said Jonathan McClintock, head coach at Central Florida Christian Academy. “He is the difference-maker on that team.”
