1. RJ Barrett, Duke
RJ Barrett narrowly edges Zion Williamson as the best player in the ACC. He may not be as exciting, or as much of an amazing athlete, but his scoring ability pushes him to the top spot for me. Barrett is averaging 23.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 0.9 steals per game. He’s shooting 44.7% from the field, and 31.7% from three point range. A surprising statistic is that Barrett leads the team in minutes and it’s not even close. He’s averaging 3.4 minutes per game more than Tre Jones who’s second on the team, and 5.9 minutes more than Zion Williamson.
RJ Barrett’s shooting numbers don’t jump off the page, but that’s just due to his shot selection. At times he can get trigger happy, but if I’m Coach K I wouldn’t have a problem with that. He’s probably the best overall scorer in the country. When he’s on his game he can knock down threes from anymore on the floor, as well as use his quick first step to blow by helpless defender and finish exquisitely well at the rim.
RJ Barrett is currently the top prospect in the 2019 NBA Draft, and that’s most likely not going to change. His knack for scoring the ball is NBA ready, and he’s good enough at passing, rebounding, and defending, to make a huge impact immediately in the Association.