5 years before they became teammates in Toronto, RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes were two of the most decorated high school basketball players of all time. In fact, RJ Barrett played his final high school game ever against Scottie Barnes, and the results were not what you might expect.
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Let's Paint the picture. This is RJ Barrett, a Canadian superhero who was a senior at Montverde, committed to play at Duke, son of Canadian basketball royalty Rowan Barrett, the American Family Insurance ALL-USA Player of the Year, Naismith Player of the Year, Gatorade player of the Year and Morgan Wootten Player of the Year. He... had a big resume.
He was the number 1 ranked player in the nation, playing for the number 1 ranked team in the nation, flanked by a talented backcourt duo of Michael Devoe and Andrew Nembhard. RJ's Montverde team was STACKED - Head coach Kevin Boyle who'd coached the Eagles with players like Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid opined that the 17-18 Montverde Eagles might be his most talented team.. ever.
On the other hand, you had Scottie Barnes & Vernon Carey leading the University School - a team which started out the season unranked but had risen to third throughout a dominant campaign by Barnes & Carey and managed to end the year ranked third.
Scottie's Sharks had beaten #2 ranked OAK Hill while Barrett'S Eagles had bested Findlay Prep to set up an ALL-FLORIDA National Championship. If people didn't know who Scottie was to start the year, they were about to find out.
The game started close but by halftime an Andrew Nembhard layup pushed it to 35-26. Barnes started out the third quarter by hitting a corner 3. As Raptor fans today know, Scottie Barnes is known for dominant second halfs, and he definetly wasn't about to let his team lose. On the very next play, Barrett shown some stage presence by hitting a 3 of his own. Not to be bested, Barnes went down the other end and went up for a layup. He came down awkwardly as he came down on a teammates foot but ever the warrior and fighter... Barnes stayed in the game.
He didn't quit, but with Barnes now favoring his ankle, and the score 31-38, the Eagles sensed blood. Closing the third quarter, the score had ballooned to 41-59 before Scottie found Carey for a wide open 3 after drawing a triple team.
The fourth quarter was more of the same but Scottie didn't go down without a technical and a few choice words for Barrett, who ended his high school career with a National Championship to complete a storied prep career which already included a Gold Medal in the U-17 FIBA Championship with Canada.
The commentators who were clearly familiar with both players spent most of the fourth quarter commending Barnes and painting a bright picture of his future.
Barrett was the better player on the better team that day - and before Zion Williamson and Ja Morant blew up, he was the projected number 1 pick in the following year's draft. Maple Mamba had won.
And it was Barnes who transfered to Montverde to effectively replace RJ's vacant spot in the front court 2 years later for the Eagles when he went on to team with Cade Cunningham to form what many call the greatest high school team of all time.
Barnes and Barrett would both go on to have impressive collegiate careers at Duke and FLorida State University in 2018 and 2020 respectively, and both would go on to be top 5 picks in the NBA- Barnes going fourth to the Raptors and RJ going third to the Knicks.
Over the years they've spent time guarding each other, and RJ even had a HUGE buzzer beating dunk over Scottie's Raptors less than a year ago to send the Knicks to overtime.
A year later, they're teammates for RJ's hometown Toronto Raptors after the Raptors traded Scottie's best friend on the team OG Anunoby. Scottie for his part doesn't quite seem to be completely over it.
There's a concept that great players can sharpen each other. 2 FORMER McDonald's All Americans, Gold medalists, prep school legends, both of whom have taken their share of media backlash, both have had highs and lows. RJ Barrett was seen by many Knicks fans as a bust - and Scottie Barnes after winning Rookie of the Year and becoming a media darling spent most of the 2022-2023 season being the whipping boy for a disappointing season in Toronto. They both have a lot to prove. AND alongside 24-year-old Immanuel Quickley, the trio could be the building blocks for the Raptors next championship.
#raptors #knicks #nba
21 сен 2024
