Canadian basketball star R.J. Barrett wins U.S. player of the year award

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He led Montverde to titles at the IYBS Invitational (Beijing, China), Iolani Classic (Honolulu, Hawaii), Beach Ball Classic (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), Hoophall Classic (Springfield, Mass.) and Metro Classic (Union, N.J.), this season, earning MVP honours at each tournament.

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Barrett, who has committed to play for Duke University, was also named a McDonald’s All-American this season and was named the Naismith Prep Player of the Year.

“I’d say the undefeated season that we’ve had so far at Montverde is the biggest accomplishment,” said Barrett. “I don’t think I’d be getting all of these awards without it. It definitely helps a lot being undefeated and the No. 1 team in the country.”

NBA stars that have won the multi-sport award include Tatum (2016), LeBron James (2003), Dwight Howard (2004), Kevin Love (2007) and Karl-Anthony Towns (2014).

“It was a great feeling to come back and present him the award that I won two years ago. I remember how excited I was,” said Tatum, who also went to Duke. “He has a bright future. He’s already a great player right now and hopefully he keeps working and he’ll be fine.”

The 17-year-old Barrett helped Canada capture a historic gold medal at the FIBA under-19 basketball World Cup last summer.

He was named MVP after leading Canada to a 79-60 victory over Italy in the final for the country’s first-ever gold medal in a FIBA world championship or Olympic event. Barrett was the tournament’s leading scorer, averaging 21.6 points per game, to go along with 8.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.7 steals.

“There’s been a lot of great Canadian players lately and it’s really growing, the number of successful Canadian players, but you could make the argument that he’s the most accomplished player in the history of Canadian basketball at his age,” said Kevin Boyle, Barrett’s head coach at Montverde. “Leading the team to the gold medal, winning the most valuable player in that tournament, being the national player of the year, and so far leading his team to a No. 1 ranking and an undefeated season.”

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John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press