Duke Commit R.J. Barrett Named 2018 Naismith High School Player of the Year

Duke basketball commit R.J. Barrett was named the 2018 Naismith High School Player of the Year on Friday.

Barrett is a 6'7" small forward at Montverde Academy, and he has led the Montverde, Florida, school to a perfect 31-0 record this season.

According to SlamOnline.com, Barrett is the second native of Canada to win the award, following in the footsteps of former Kansas and current Minnesota Timberwolves star Andrew Wiggins.

Barrett said the following regarding the award in a statement issued to the Atlanta Tipoff Club, per SlamOnline.com: "It is an honor to receive the Naismith Player of the Year award. I want to thank God, my family, friends, teammates, coaches and the Montverde community, as well as all the people who voted for me."

According to PrepCircuit.com, Barrett is averaging 27.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game for Montverde this season.

Barrett notably led Team Canada to a gold medal in the 2017 FIBA U-19 Basketball World Cup, averaging 21.6 points, 8.3 boards and 4.6 assists in seven games, per RealGM.com.

The dynamic small forward is listed as the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2018 recruiting class by 247Sports.

He committed to Duke in November, choosing the Blue Devils over the likes of Arizona, Kentucky and Kansas, among others.