By ADAM ZAGORIA
Duke-bound wing R.J. Barrett continued his winning ways at the Nike Hoop Summit.
In his final organized game as a high school student, the 6-foot-7 Barrett went for 21 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals to lead the World Team to an 89-76 victory over the USA in Portland, Ore.
The 6-foot-7 Barrett previously led Canada to the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship last July in Egypt.
“I thought we played pretty good,” Barrett said. “This was my second (Nike Hoop Summit). Last year, we had trouble on defensive rebounds. Jaylen (Hoard) had a double-double, Charles (Bassey) had a double-double, I had nine rebounds. We cleaned that up and clicked and played together as a team all night long.”
Duke-bound @RjBarrett6. Look out below. @nikehoopsummit pic.twitter.com/XjdJwMBmhh
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 14, 2018
R.J. Barrett once again showed he’s the cream of the crop of the 2018 high school class when the lights came on. Just wants to rip your heart out every time he steps on the floor. Thought he showed some impressive passing ability today as well.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 14, 2018
Bassey (Canada) added 13 points and 11 rebounds in the win and Hoard (France) had 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Oregon-bound big man Bol Bol had 12 points, 14 rebounds and 7 blocks in the loss. Vanderbilt-bound guard Darius Garland went for 16 points and 5 assists. And Kansas-bound guard Quentin Grimes tallied 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Villanova signee Cole Swider added 10 points. Romeo Langford (potential concussion) did not play for the USA.
“It was a really competitive game at the beginning, and I think we did a good job, but at the end of the game they just fought harder than we did,” Bol said. “We’re upset with the loss.”
In the last two weeks, Barrett played in the McDonald’s All-American Game in Atlanta and then led his Montverde (FL) Academy team to the Geico High School Nationals title at Christ the King High School in Queens. He then skipped the Jordan Brand Classic on Sunday in Brooklyn to rest.
Barrett, the Gatorade and Naismith National Player of the Year, is part of Duke’s recruiting class ranked No. 1 nationally in 2018 that also includes Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones.
Barrett is the projected No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
The last eight No. 1 overall picks played in the Hoop Summit: Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and John Wall.
For more on Barrett, read my FloHoops.com feature here.
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