Canadian star R.J. Barrett will play college basketball a year sooner than expected

R.J. Barrett, Canada’s biggest rising basketball star, announced he is reclassifying from the class of 2019 to 2018, meaning he’ll enter college a year sooner than expected and be eligible for the 2019 draft. Barrett is a five-star recruit with a perfect rating on 247sports and was considered to be the top recruit in the 2019 class. The 6’7 wing has all the tools to become a star.

Barrett already holds offers from almost every big-name school including Duke, Kentucky, UCLA, Kansas, Arizona, Oregon, and Michigan.

The 2018 college basketball class is now loaded with No. 1 recruit Marvin Bagley (who may reclassify to the 2017 class), famous dunking sensation Zion Williamson, and Manute Bol’s son, Bol Bol. There are a ton of five-star recruits to get to know in this class, including Cameron Reddish, Romeo Langford and Tyus Jones’ younger brother, Tre. If Bagley moves to the 2017 class though, it’s likely Barrett assumes his position as the top prospect and true prize of this class.

Barrett’s name blew up nationally this summer after his Canadian U-19 team knocked off a John Calipari United States team in the semifinals. He scored 38 points in the win and averaged 22 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for the tournament. Barrett went on to win a gold medal.