By SEAN BOCK
Duke signee R.J. Barrett of Montverde Academy (FL) was announced as 2018 Naismith High School Boys’ Player of the Year Friday morning.
“It is an honor to receive the Naismith Player of the Year award,” said Barrett. “I want to thank God, my family, friends, teammates, coaches, and the Montverde community, as well as all the people who voted for me.”
Barrett is the consensus No. 1 player in the 2018 class and is the second player from Montverde Academy to win the Player of the Year title in the past four seasons (Ben Simmons, 2015).
Barrett’s team is 31-0 and hopes to continue its streak at the High School Basketball National Tournament in New York City later this month. He will be the third high school award winner to go on to play collegiately at Duke University, tying UCLA and Georgia Tech, following Shane Battier in 1997 and Austin Rivers in 2011.
Along with the Naismith award, Barrett was selected to participate in the McDonald’s All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic.
