Just before Christmas, colleague Jim Halley brought you first hand testament to to the rising power of R.J. Barrett, the Canadian national who has emerged as Montverde Academy’s pacemaker and scoring provocateur. Barrett was the Eagles’ standout performer at City of Palms, and has since gained buzz as being the nation’s most impressive freshman.

Now we’ve got a full mixtape from Barrett’s City of Palms tournament, and there’s plenty there to like about Barrett’s athleticism, court intelligence and versatility. It hasn’t taken long for Montverde coach Kevin Boyle to begin relying on Barrett’s ability to contribute in every phase of the game … in every game.

“As good as he is, he needs to become more physical, he needs to work more on his jump shot,” Boyle said. “He’s very different from Michael Gilchrist, but he reminds me of Michael Gilchrist, the way he creates contact and always fills all the stats.”

Michael Gilchrist is one heck of a comparison for a 15-year-old to get. If he continues improving he might just get there, too. He’s certainly off to a fast start.

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