By Kyle Boone
The New York Knicks have selected Duke one-and-done star RJ Barrett with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft.
As a freshman last season, Barrett led the Blue Devils in scoring and set a new ACC freshman scoring record with 860 total points while averaging 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
Barrett had long been linked to the Knicks when the lottery was sorted out in May, so Barrett falling to No. 3 was not a surprise. Initially, his teammate, Zion Williamson, was considered to be the target for New York going into the lottery, but they wound up at No. 3 despite the best lottery odds and with the other Duke star from last year’s 32-win team as a result.
Don’t let the circumstances fool you, though: he is more than a consolation. Coming out of high school, Barrett was ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit and entered 2018-19 as the preseason favorite to be drafted first overall in 2019. He has a pedigree that includes being a McDonald’s All-American, a consensus First Team All-American, Mr. Basketball USA, the Gatorade National Player of the Year, and a gold medalist at the FIBA U19 World Cup with Canada. The list goes on.
As soon as they got the #3 pick, we all knew it would be Barrett and I’m fine with it. He’s easily one of the most polished rookies they’ve had in years.
He might become a star. That’d be awesome.
Let’s see what other hijinks the Knicks can get up to tonight.
[NYTimes] 
[NYTimes] 
[NYTimes] 
[NYTimes]