Canadian R.J. Barrett, Duke to play three exhibition games in Canada

R.J. Barrett holds up his No. 21 Duke jersey after announcing his commitment to play for the Blue Devils (Maggie Naylor/AP)

TORONTO — Canadian basketball phenom R.J. Barrett will make his college debut at home this summer.

Barrett and the Duke Blue Devils will play a three-game exhibition series against USports teams in Toronto and Montreal, a Duke University official confirmed.

The Blue Devils will play the Ryerson Rams on Aug. 15 and the University of Toronto on Aug. 17. Both games are at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ont., Barrett’s hometown. Duke will face McGill University on Aug. 19 in Montreal.

The 17-year-old Barrett is a projected No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft. He’ll head to Duke after a stunning senior season at Florida’s Montverde Academy, where he named the Naismith Prep Player of the Year and the Gatorade National Player of the Year.

He was the MVP of last month’s Nike Hoop Summit where he led the world team past the U.S. in a game featuring the best high school players on the planet.

Last summer, as one of the youngest players in the tournament, Barrett led Canada to a historic victory at the FIBA U19 world championships.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.