REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - After winning two major titles and collecting a number of awards over the past nine months, young Canadian star RJ Barrett hopes to add another big accolade: leading the World Select Team to victory in the 2018 Nike Hoop Summit.

Barrett secured his spot in international and Canadian folklore by guiding Canada to the gold medal at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2017. And he bookended that by finally getting Montverde Academy back to the top of high school basketball in the United States by winning the Geico's High School Basketball Nationals. Barrett was named MVP after collecting 25 points and 15 rebounds in leading undefeated Montverde to their fourth title - after getting bounced in the semi-finals and final the past two seasons with Barrett on board.

R.J. Barrett was throwing down HAMMERS today leading Montverde to the Geico HS Nationals Championship win!! pic.twitter.com/MHB8xxVtu5

— Basketball Society (@BBallSociety_) March 31, 2018

Since the end of the high school season, Barrett has swooped up a number of Player of the Year awards, including those from Naismith, Gatorade, MaxPreps and American Family Insurance. He was also named a McDonald's All-American this season, and Barrett was invited to the Jordan Brand Classic and BioSteel All-Canadian Game but decided to sit out both of the showcases to rest.

But Barrett is all business in Portland where the World Team is hoping to snap a two-game losing streak to the USA Select Team. Barrett, who will turn 18 years old in June, is the only returnee from last year's game after collecting nine points, two assists, two steals, one rebound and three turnovers in 20 minutes of a 98-87 loss. Barrett last month helped Montverde finally get back to the top … now it's time for him to help the World Team win.

NIKE HOOP SUMMIT 2018:

RJ Barrett e o World Team, devem dar trabalho no @nikehoopsummit 🔥@RjBarrett6 @SLAM_HS pic.twitter.com/gin08AdtL1

— HS Basketball BR (@HSBasketballBR) April 12, 2018

There is a good amount of talent on the World Team, which has a 6-14 all-time record against the USA in the annual showcase.

One clear trait of the World Team is its good size, with only two players shorter than 6ft 5in (1.96m). Nigerian 6ft 11in (2.10m) center Charles Bassey and 6ft 10in (2.08m) N'Faly Dante of Mali are two highly-skilled African big men who have been in the United States for a couple of years learning the game. Add to that Kofi Cockburn, a 6ft 10in center from Jamaica and the 6ft 8in (2.03m) Chinese forward Kevin Zhang, the latter who was Barrett's teammate at Montverde. 

The World Team's wings have great size too with Barrett at 6ft 7in (2.01m), while fellow Canadian Ignas Brazdeikis and France's Jaylen Hoard are both 6ft 8in (2.04m). Argentina's Leandro Bolmaro and Australian Josh Green are both 6ft 6in (1.98m) guards and the other Frenchman Bathiste Tchouaffe stands 6ft 5in to fill out the wings.

The point guard duties will be shared by the third Canadian, Barrett's teammate from Montverde Andrew Nembhard at 6ft 4in (1.92m) as well as the 19-year-old diminutive but lightning quick 5ft 9in (1.75m) Yago Dos Santos, who has already played for Brazil's senior national team in both windows of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers.

The World Team, which was announced quite late in the process on April 6 - one week before the game, is clearly light on Europeans with only the two Frenchmen on the squad. And only Tchouaffe of Nanterre is actually playing in France as Hoard was starring for Wesleyan Christian Academy in North Carolina this season.

The USA Team, as always, is loaded with talent as well - including four players who could perhaps be playing for the United States at the FIBA U18 Americas Championship 2018 in June in St. Catherines. Darius Bazley, Darius Garland, Quentin Grimes and Tyler Herro are all 2000-born players, meaning they are eligible to play in the continental championship. That quartet all possess impressive skillsets.

Herro is heading to Kentucky while Grimes will be making his way to Kansas and Garland starting his college career at up-and-coming Vanderbilt. Bazley recently made headlines when he announced he would not be attending Syracuse but will instead play next season in the G-League.

Even though Duke-bound star prospect Zion Williamson will not be playing - he injured his thumb at the McDonald's All-American Game and is wearing a cast - the game will have a very Duke feeling with Barrett on the World Team and fellow in-coming freshmen Tre Jones and Cam Reddish on the USA side.

Another Kentucky recruit Keldon Johnson, meanwhile, is just coming off an ankle injury at the Geico Nationals but is an explosive multi-faceted guard and great leader.

The USA team actually will be smaller than the World side though they have the tallest player in the competition in Oregon-bound Bol Bol, the tantalizingly talented son of NBA legend Manute Bol, who stands 7ft 2in (2.18m). Add to Bol the 6ft 10in duo David McCormack, who is heading to Kansas; and Jordan Brown, who has yet to decide on a college with Gonzaga, Oregon and UCLA among his finalists. Also undecided is Romeo Langford, who is considering Indiana, Kansas and Vanderbilt.

Ten of the 12 players for the USA team have already had experience with USA Basketball, with McCormack and Cole Swider the only two who did not participate in the federation's Men's Junior National Team minicamp last October.

And a total of 203 former players from the USA or World Select teams have been drafted by NBA teams, including 13 players in the 2017 NBA Draft. And 50 participants have been picked in the first round of the NBA Draft since 1995.

With all the talent in this game, the 2018 Nike Hoop Summit is bound to be an excellent contest. Barrett has already once this spring stepped up his game after losing a big event with the Geico Nationals. Will he do it again in Portland?

David Hein

FIBA

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