Barrett’s Duke debut in Canada a winner
Late in the first quarter Wednesday night, Canadian basketball phenom R.J. Barrett veered around a Ryerson defender to throw down an emphatic dunk.
He and teammate Zion Williamson celebrated with a chest bump that was almost as big.
Consider it Barrett’s college coming-out party.
Making his Duke debut in his hometown, the electrifying 18-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., made his first game in a Blue Devils jersey a memorable one, scoring a game-high 34 points in a 86-67 pre-season victory over Canadian university ’s Ryerson Rams.
Williamson added 29 points and 13 rebounds. The two young stars took a seat with three minutes to play. JV Mukama led Ryerson with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
NCAA rules permit teams to take an international trip once every four years, and the Blue Devils opted to head north for the first time in the program’s history. They’ll play the University of Toronto on Friday, then head to Montreal to face McGill on Sunday.
Fans were eager to catch a first glimpse of not only Barrett — the presumptive No. 1 pick in next spring’s NBA draft — but other members of Duke’s top-ranked freshman class that includes Williamson and Cam Reddish. Both games at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre sold out quickly. Wednesday’s affair was being streamed on ESPN, and drew a media contingent several-dozen strong.
Wednesday’s pro-Duke crowd included Portland sharpshooter and fellow Mississauga native Nik Stauskas and 10-time NBA all-star David Robinson.
Barrett is already being touted as perhaps the greatest player to come out of Canada. The six-footseven swingman won both the Gatorade Player of the Year and Naismith Player of the Year last season to help Florida’s Montverde Academy to an undefeated season and coveted U.S. high school title. He also led Canada to a gold medal at the 2017 U-19 world championships.