NPH Exclusive Interview With ‘Mr. Basketball USA’ RJ Barrett

RJ Barrett’s senior high school season resume is simply historic. No one has won as many team championships (FIBA U19 World Champion and US National High School Champion) while also winning every individual award possible. In fact, he is the first basketball player in history to win a National Player of the Year award in both US and Canada. Here is Jason Thom’s NPH exclusive sit down interview with RJ Barrett from his family home in Mississauga.

RJ Barrett’s Full List Accolades in his high school career

• #1 Ranked Freshman North Pole Hoops
• #1 Ranked Freshman ESPN
• #2 MVA vs #4 Huntington Prep ( 18pts 4 rebs, 2 assist vs Miles Bridges and the W)
• #1 MVA vs #2 Chino Hills (31 pts/9 rebs/6 assists vs Lonzo Ball, L)
• All Tournament Team at City of Palms
• Beach Ball Classic All Tournament Team
• Hoop Hall Game MVP
• Max Preps All Freshmen Team
• Jordan Brand MVP
• AAU U16 EYBL Peach Jam Finalist with Team UPLAY (Avg 25 pts/10 rbds/3 assists)
• U17 World Championships for Canada (avg’d 18 pts/4 rebs/2 assists) Second Team All Star. Named Top Prospect of World Championships

• #1 Ranked Sophomore ESPN/Rivals/Scout
• City of Palms MVP
• Hoop Hall Game MVP
• Bass Pro All Star
• Max Preps Sophomore of the Year
• Dick’s National Championship Finalists (Avg’d 25 pts/8 rbd/3 assists)
• AAU U17 EYBL leading scorer with 28 pts per game/10 rebs/3 assists.
• Basketball Without Borders MVP
• Nike Hoop Summit (Named top prospect of international team) 4th youngest player selected in the history of the Hoop Summit.
• U19 World Championships(while 2yrs younger than everyone )Gold Medal and All Tourney Team and MVP– first in the history of Canada and first gold medal game since 1936 (Avg’d 21 pts/8 rebs/5 assists at 17 years old)
• Beat USA in semi-final (1st loss in 7 years for USA) with Hamidou Diallo, Cameron Reddish, Romeo Langford, Immanuel Quickley, PJ Washington among others (Rj had 38 pts/13 rebs/5 assists in USA Game).
• Named top prospect of the World Championship despite being two years younger

Notable High School Match ups:

•  IMG – #5 Ranked in 2017 class Trevon Duval, #20 Ranked in 2018 class Emmitt Williams, Silvio De Sousa #28 Ranked in 2018 class Rj had 30 pts/9rbds/4assts and the W
• Tampa Catholic- #7 Ranked in 2017 class Kevin Knox, Rj had 32 pts, 9 rbds, 2 assists and the W.
• Pebblebrook- #10 Ranked in 2017 Collin Sexton 34 pts/12rebs/5 assists and the W
• Findlay Prep – #16 Ranked PJ Washington, Rj had 28 pts/13 rebs/3 assists and the W

• #1 Ranked Senior ESPN/Rivals
• #1 Ranked Team in the Nation Montverde Academy – USA Today/Max Preps/Ballislife
• Statistics – 28pts/8rbds/5assists per game
• IYBS Invitational, Beijing China – Champions and MVP
• Iolani Classic, Honolulu Hawaii – Champions and MVP
• Cancer Research Classic – Champions and MVP
• Beach Ball Classic – Champions and MVP
• Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament – Champions and All Star
• Metro Classic – Champions and MVP
• Hoop Hall – Champions and MVP
• Geico National Championships – Champions and MVP.
• All time leading scorer in National Championships history.
• Montverde Academy – Undefeated season 35-0
• Morgan Wooten POY
• Naismith POY
• Gatorade POY
• All-USA Today POY
• Max Preps POY
• McDonald’s All-America
• Jordan Brand
• Nike Hoop Summit
• BioSteel POY
• Signature All Canadian Showcase
• 2017 EYBL – Scoring leader 28pts/10 rbds/4assists
• Canada Basketball U19 Team •Voted 2017 Canadian Press Team of the Year (first such award for a basketball team in the award’s 51 year history).
• Rj Barrett named 2017 Breakout Athlete of the Year by Canada’s Sporting News.
• Mr. Basketball USA