R.J's World | The Second Coming

In the modern era basketball has grown to become a universal game. Canada has honed great upcoming stars; Rowan Barrett Jr. is no stranger to the basketball community. The 17 year-old phenom is the #1 prospect in the 2018 Class. Next season Barrett will join forces with the Coach K and the Duke Blue Devils. In the beginning of his Junior Year R.J. decided to reclassify to the 2018 class, which opened many doors for his recruiting process. The Brampton native narrowed his final 5 schools to: Arizona, Kentucky, Oregon, Michigan, and Duke. In the last 2 seasons R.J. has emerged into a 5-star recruit that led Team Canada to its first Gold Medal at the 2017 Fiba World Cup. The Brampton native averaged 21.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 5 assists and received tournament MVP honours. With that win Canada basketball had claimed national supremacy and have brought prominence back to the homeland.

“My main goal has been making it to university and then make it to the NBA”

— R.J. Barrett Jr.

In his final year at Montverde Academy R.J. has continued to impose his will on the American soil, playing alongside fellow Canuck Andrew Nembhard. The two have grown as players over the years from their days together in AAU and high school. The 2 Canadians play for legendary Coach Boyle; Coach Boyle is nationally recognized and has been a sole contributor to the development of various top prospects. Before his stint at Montverde Academy Coach Boyle was at St. Patrick's, where he led the Celtics to 4 TOC titles and coached over 45 Division I athletes including Kyrie Irving, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Al Harrington. Coach Boyle has high expectations for his star player Barrett as he look to embark on his new journey next fall and believes that R.J. will be the number 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

“R.J. has the potential to be the #1 pick, matter of fact I’d be very surprised it he’s not”

— Coach Kevin Boyle

R.J. hasn't been a stranger to national accolades, after winning the Naismith and Wotten awards he has reached a new dimension. On Friday March 16, R.J. Barrett Jr. was named the National Gatorade Player of the year, joining fellow Canuck Andrew Wiggins who was selected back in 2013. Barrett has become the 2nd player from the Eagles program to win this award after NBA star Ben Simmons, it is no coincidence that both players led Montverde Academy to historical prominence, and now Barrett has the chance carve his own legacy. It will be a great sight to watch Ben Simmons square off against Barrett. R.J. still has the potential to become the best Canadian player in history, which is highly attainable. The future Blue Devil will flourish at the next level especially playing for a storied program such as Duke.

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Canada basketball has been on a rise with their development of their top tier players, in addition to their 1st gold medal the future remains bright for Team Canada. The great lineage of Canadian players helped paved dividends to upcoming prospects such as R.J. Barrett Jr. as he becomes the "Second Coming". If Team Canada qualifies for the 2020 Olympics, that will be another defining moment for Canada as they have another chance to claim national supremacy. Be sure to follow R.J. on his journey this season, as he will be participating in this years McDonald's All-American game, Jordan Brand Classic, and Nike World Hoop Summit game. Does Team Canada have their new saviour that will take them to the promise land? It's safe to say that he's "Kid Canada".

Athlete: R.J. Barrett Jr. (@rjbarrett)

Special Thanks: Slam Magazine, Canada Basketball, ESPN, TSN

@Slamonline, @canadabasketball, @espn, @tsn

Journey Of The Johnnies | Red Storm Redemption

It’s the dawn of a new age for college hoops; The NCAA hoop scene has cemented its newfound identity. In the past 2 decades we’ve witnessed history of the reputable Big East Conference, the Big East always been exceptional to college basketball for it’s rich tradition and theatrics. The critically acclaimed Big East Tournament has defined some of the brightest moments in sport history, and with it's influences on the NCAA tournament as a whole many can see the consistent emergence it has imposed. We will draw our attention to a historical storied program in St.John's University.

In its heightened prime the St. John's Red Storm not only emerged as a dominant force in college hoops, but also as a top contender in the Big East. During the 1984-85 season legendary Coach Lou Carnesecca guided the Johnnies to a storied finish, the Johnnies completed their season with a 31-4 record and made their first NCAA Final Four appearance. This was a pivotal moment for the St. John's program, but more importantly the Big East for it's dominance (3 out of 4 team were Big East members), Under the Carnesecca campaign the Red Storm captured 2 Big East conference titles, 5 Big East regular season Championships, and 19 NCAA Tournament appearances, It’s safe to safe that Coach Lou and the Johnnies have brought prominence back to Broadway. Coach Lou has left a defining legacy throughout his career at St. John's and still continues to cultivate the community by his charismatic character and exhilarating passion. Lou is currently a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, where he joins current Johnnies Coach Chris Mullin.

Now we fast forward to the present, former Red Storm guard and current coach Chris Mullin is another prominent figure in the Johnnies history book. The Brooklyn native has been a jack-of -all trade. Mullin started his career at St.Johns playing under Coach Lou for 4 year and now in his 3rd season as a head coach he looks to carve out his own legacy while embracing the one that Lou has paved. Coach Mullin and Lou both share a common goal....that is WINNING. In the 4 years that Coach Mullins played under Lou he was a sole contributor to their 1983 Big East title, 3 Big East player of the year awards, and the John Wooden Award. Now Coach Mullin has made the transitioning from taking jump shots to designing sets, and he continues to embrace every challenge that the Big East may bring.

The Johnnies are gearing up for their opening round of The Big East Tournament where they'll square off against Archaic Rival Georgetown coached by the legendary Patrick Ewing. Coach Mullin and Ewing have faced off several times during their playing careers, but now as coaches they look to put on a galvanizing show by re-enacting the old Big East rivalry. The Johnnies will have the home court advantage during their match-up. The Red storm is in quest for their 1st Big East title in over 20 years. Don't count the Johnnies out in January the Red Storm snapped a 11 game losing streak after they defeated #4 Duke in a thriller. The Red Storm then went on to defeat Villanova, Marquette, and DePeaul. Within a week The Johnnies defeated # 1 Villanova and # 4 Duke, All season the Red storm dealt with their fair share of hardships, but in spite of their trials Coach Mullin continues to motivate his guys to rise above adversity.

“For the most part we’ve kept a postive frame of mind, got rid of the losses, and tried to move on. - Coach Mullin”

Now heading into championship week the Red Storm have their eyes set on winning the Big East tournament, and getting a NCAA tournament bid. If the Johnnies win the Big East tournament that would be the 1st time winning it in over 2 decades, no pressure at all because as the #9 seed they can sneak right into the finals. Can Sophomore G Shamorie Ponds and the Johnnies lock in and win 5 games to capture the title or will the tough rigors of the Big East tournament derailed them? Be sure to tune in March 7-11 to catch the Big East Tournament Live from Broadway, it will be bedlam at the Garden. The Red Storm is coming to a city near you.

Figures: Coach Lou "Looie" Carnasecca, Coach Chris Mullin

Thanks to: St. John's University(@stjohnsbball), Big East Conference (@bigeastconf), @ESPN

Artwork: Bounce Apparel (bounce.apparel)