College basketball fans who tune in to Team Canada during the 2024 Olympic Games will be treated to quite a few familiar faces.
Whether it’s a trio of former Kentucky stars in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, and Trey Lyles, a pair of former Zags in Kelly Olynyk and Andrew Nembhard, or other prominent CBB alumnus like Dillon Brooks (Oregon), Lu Dort (Arizona State) or Dwight Powell (Stanford), the Canadian roster is chalk full of former college stars.
Perhaps the most electric college basketball player suiting up for Canada is R.J Barrett, who was a consensus All-American with the Duke Blue Devils as a freshman in 2018-19, teaming up with Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish to create a formidable three-headed monster under coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Barrett has had an up-and-down NBA career since going No. 3 overall in the 2019 NBA draft, but he has risen to the occasion for Team Canada so far in France – leading the country in scoring in each of their first two games, a win over Greece on Saturday and a win over Australia on Monday morning.
The 6’7 forward dropped 23 points with four rebounds and three assists on 8-13 shooting in an 86-79 win over Greece, who got 34 points from superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Then on Monday, Barrett once again paced the Canadiens – this time dropping 24 points with seven rebounds, five assists, and a pair of steals in a 10 point victory over Australia.
Barrett’s aggressive maneuvering with the ball in his hands works well in FIBA rules, helping him to thrive in this setting despite having an MVP candidate and All-Star caliber guard alongside him in the backcourt in SGA and Murray.
Canada will face Spain in the final group-stage matchup on Friday, August 2 at 11:15 AM ET.