This isn’t the first time R.J. Barrett vexed John Calipari.
Barrett’s decision to choose Duke over Kentucky (and Oregon) — announced Friday evening on TSN’s SportsCentre in Canada — means it’ll be Coach K in charge of his NCAA basketball career rather than Coach Cal. That might hurt even more than the 38 points Barrett scored during the summer to lead Canada over Calipari’s United States squad in the semifinals of the FIBA U19 World Cup.
Barrett went on to lead Team Canada to the gold medal, and now he’ll try to carry Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils to another Final Four and NCAA championship. Krzyzewski has five titles now, although there could be a sixth by the time Barrett arrives.
MORE: Duke's Grayson Allen headlines SN's preseason All-Americans
Barrett stood and held up a white Duke No. 21 jersey in making his announcement.
Barrett is a 6-7 lefty wing who plays at Montverde Academy in Florida. He is ranked by Scout.com as the No. 1 player in the 2018 recruiting class — even though he was in the 2019 class up until late July. He decided to accelerate his high school graduation to get that much closer to the NBA Draft, which he will be eligible to enter in June 2019.
"It feels a lot like Montverde. It feels like home," Barrett said. "And obviously they have a great coach ... I love Coach K. I've been watching Duke since I was really young.'
Barrett visited Duke in mid-September and left the people around the program there feeling positive about the Devils’ chances to sign him.
MORE: Louisville’s response to sex-related controversies warned of troubled moral system
With a talent at Barrett’s level, there is no concern about whether there will be a position available when he arrives. Instead, the question is who will be in the program to play alongside him. That is uncertain, with the Devils sure to lose senior guard Grayson Allen and freshman forward Marvin Bagley, quite likely point guard Trevon Duval and center Wendell Carter and possibly freshman wing Gary Trent.
But the Devils already have commitments in the 2018 class from No. 4 prospect Cameron Reddish, an elite wing whom Barrett faces at the U19s, and No. 6 prospect Tre Jones, a point guard who might have more physical talent than his national champion brother, Tyus.
Barrett is an elite athlete whose explosive first step makes guarding him a challenge, and he has the sort of body control when on the move or in the air that separates him from the defense and from even the best of his teenaged peers.
MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: Now isn't time for 'Band-Aid' to fix college basketball
Although Barrett averaged 21.6 points and 8.3 rebounds for Canada at the U19s, he still is working on developing a consistent perimeter jumpshot, and that will be the greatest obstacle to him attaining stardom at the collegiate and professional levels. He made just 15 of 63 from long range in the U19 tournament, knocking his overall shooting percentage below 44 percent.
"I don't think I'm perfect in any aspect of the game," Barrett said, acknowledging he needs to improve his shooting touch.
Barrett’s father Rowan played for St. John’s between 1992-96, and was the team’s third-leading scorer in his senior year. He is now an executive with Basketball Canada.
