Barrett arrives home to make Duke debut Royals spoil Reid-Foley’s debut
Duke’s men’s basketball team hadn’t travelled on an international pre-season tour in ages. It’s fitting that when they finally did, it’s virtually in R.J. Barrett’s backyard.
“I think the arena’s within walking distance of where he lives,” Duke’s Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Or his walking distance maybe, not my walking distance.”
A month after Barrett departed for his new campus in Durham, N.C., the 18-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., arrived home with his new teammates in tow. Duke will play a three-game exhibition series, facing the Ryerson Rams on Wednesday and the University of Toronto on Friday in a pair of sold-out games at Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga.
They’ll travel to Montreal to play McGill on Sunday to wrap up the tour.
And if Barrett has anything to do with the itinerary?
“I think we have to see the CN Tower,” he said. “I also want them to try the poutine. I like poutine, personally, so I want them to try it.”
Barrett is the centrepiece of the NCAA’s consensus No. 1 recruiting class, along with freshmen teammates Zion Williamson and Cameron Reddish. Krzyzewski had Barrett on his radar for years, but when the Canadian forward reclassified last summer, announcing he planned to come out of high school a year early, Krzyzewski and staff had to push the button on Project Recruit Barrett.
“You went from the right lane to the express lane right away in recruiting him,” Krzyzewski said Monday. “All of a sudden now R.J. is part of their class, and then how does that fit in, and then it ended up fitting in real well. But we had to ramp it up then. But we’ve known about (Barrett), I can’t say exactly, but a long time. He’s just been that good.”
Barrett was sandwiched at Monday’s news conference at a downtown hotel between juniors Javin DeLaurier and Jack White. The two were asked about navigating the unique combination of a high-profile group of freshmen and upperclassmen.
“We’re kind of used to having high-profile freshmen coming in just based on the university that we go to and the fact that we play for Coach K. What’s been really special about this group is how mature and together they are,” said De Laurier. “For a freshman group, they’ve come in and done everything that is asked of them. They’ve worked super hard, willing to listen and to get better, which has impressed not only myself but the rest of the upperclassmen.”
“R.J. definitely pulls his weight,” he added. “He’s done a great job.”
“R.J.’s a bit goofy sometimes,” White added.
NCAA rules dictate teams can take an international trip once every four years. It’s been a long time since Krzyzewski could commit to a summer trip because of his 11 years at the helm of the U.S. national men’s team. Krzyzewski had knee replacement surgery last summer, scuttling a planned trip to the Dominican Republic.
Ryan O’Hearn homered and drove in a career-high three runs, Brad Keller threw seven strong innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Monday night to spoil Sean Reid-Foley’s major league debut.
Reid-Foley (0-1) was removed after 97 pitches and five innings, allowing three runs, six hits and three walks while striking out three. Reid-Foley is only the second player in major league history to be born in Guam. He was 124 with a 2.98 ERA in 23 minor league starts this season.
O’Hearn, a rookie who entered hitting .130 with three RBIs, hit an opposite-field homer on Reid-Foley’s first pitch with Brett Phillips aboard with two outs in the second.
Brad Keller (5-5) yielded one run and four hits to pick up his third victory in his past four decisions.