NBA Draft 2019: The case for RJ Barrett to be the No. 1 overall pick

With the season done and the NBA Draft approaching, most have a Blue Devil being drafted No. 1 overall. Here’s why RJ Barrett should get come serious consideration.

The NCAA Tournament ended last week with the Virginia Cavaliers becoming NCAA Champions for the first time in school history, and thereby avenging their first round loss the previous year to UMBC. Finally, all the Madness is over, right? Actually, that could not be more wrong.

The 2019 NBA Draft is just over two months away on June 20th and the NBA Draft lottery is even sooner on May 14th. Now, if you watch ESPN or any sports channel for that matter, they say May 14th is the more important of these two dates for all teams in the draft lottery. The reason being, it seems inevitable whichever team wins the right to the first overall draft pick will automatically draft Zion Williamson. Now, I am not here to flat-out tell you that Zion should not be the number one pick in this year’s draft. In fact, I believe he will be; however, I want to present the argument for why RJ Barrett deserves to be in the discussion.

Barrett came to Duke as the number one ranked player in the country coming out of Montverde high school, a powerhouse that has produced NBA stars such as Ben Simmons and D’Angelo Russell. Montverde won the National Championship in Barrett’s senior year and his 29 points per game average was the main reason why. RJ brought his proficient scoring prowess to Duke where he notched the second most points in a single season in Duke basketball history, behind only JJ Redick.

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In addition, Barrett’s 22.6 points per game led the Blue Devils this year. The craziest part is that none of these feats or statistics received much attention. Every Duke game, even games Zion did not play, he was all anyone wanted to talk about and that continues to be the case now that the season has ended. The fact that Barrett did not complain once or seek out attention, even when justified, speaks to his personality and to the kind of teammate he is. With the increasing number of players that have caused locker room issues as of late in the NBA, a player’s character appears to be an important, undervalued quality in the league.

RJ Barrett is a pure scorer. He can get to the rim at will and has enough shooting ability from the three-point line to keep defenders honest. Barrett plays a variation of the point forward position and an NBA comparable is Ben Simmons. They both have great court vision and even though they clearly favor their left hand, most defenders are still unable to stop them from getting to the hoop at will.

Come May 14th, the media will be discussing who will be drafted picks two and below, as many say it is inevitable that Zion will be the number one pick. However, as incredible as Zion is from a physical stand point, a player that size is more injury prone, as was seen in his one year in college.

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I would encourage the team that wins the lottery to take a long, hard look at Barrett as he has the potential to have the longest NBA career of the prospects in this draft. And if Barrett falls to the second pick as many believe he will, the team that drafts him should feel excited due to his sky-high ceiling.

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