NBA

Canadian Duke star RJ Barrett declares for the 2019 NBA Draft

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RJ Barrett has declared for the 2019 NBA Draft.

"It was a dream of mine to play at Duke, ever since I was a young kid," Barrett said in an Instagram video on Wednesday. "It's also a dream of mine to play in the NBA and have great success there."

"After discussing with my family and coaches, I've decided that I'll be declaring for the 2019 NBA Draft."

The Mississauga, Ontario native averaged 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game in his freshman season at Duke, doing so on 45.4 percent shooting from the field and 30.8 percent from 3-point range. He broke the ACC freshman single-season scoring record, passing Kenny Anderson and Joe Smith.

At the end of the season, Barrett was named the National Player of the Year by USA Today and was both a consensus first-team All-American and a member of the All-ACC team.

Barrett played well for Duke in the NCAA Tournament, scoring 26 points and pulling down 14 rebounds in the team's first-round matchup with North Dakota State. He then went for 16 points in the second round, 18 points and 11 assists in the Sweet Sixteen and 21 points, six rebounds and six assists in Duke's loss to Michigan State in the Elite Eight.

Barrett is widely considered to be one of the best prospects in this year's draft. Tankathon currently has him going second behind Zion Williamson, and NBADraft.net has him going third behind Williamson and Ja Morant.

Barrett has been compared to many players, ranging from Danny Granger and Rudy Gay to DeMar DeRozan and James Harden. While there are some concerns about how his shooting ability, shot selection and ball dominance will translate to the NBA, he has the size, skill and athleticism to develop into a star.

Barrett joins fellow Canadians Ignas BrazdeikisSimi Shittu, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Mfiondu Kabengele who have all already declared for the draft.

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Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News