What do famous hip-hop artist Drake and Montverde Academy alumnus R.J. Barrett have in common? Both are from Toronto, Canada, and have achieved tremendous accolades that follow their name.
In the 2017-18 season, the MVA varsity basketball team, led by R.J. Barrett, enjoyed an undefeated 35-0 season and took home the GEICO National Championship. Barrett earned the Gatorade National Player of the Year, Naismith High School Player of the Year, McDonalds All-American, Morgan Wootten Player of the Year, USA Today Player of the Year, MaxPreps Player of the Year, GEICO National High School Invitational Champion, and All-Time leading scorer in the history of the national tournament. He averaged 28 points, eight rebounds, and four assists per game in his last season as a senior. He didn't just bring his game to the court but also brought his focus and commitment to academics as well, earning a 3.1 average GPA. In addition, he shared his love of the game by volunteering for Basketball Buddies, a program that taught basketball to kids with special needs, serving as a mentor, coach and even an official for participants.
Currently, Barrett is playing for Duke University and has already broken the school record for most points in a season opener as a freshman with 33 points against the University of Kentucky. Barrett is also projected to be the No.1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft.
Although Drake did not receive prestigious basketball awards like R.J., his musical talent definitely did. With more than 100 awards from 474 nominations, including three Grammy Awards, eight No.1 album appearances on the Billboard 200 albums chart, four multi-platinum studio albums, three mixtapes that have gone platinum, 20 songs that have peaked in the Hot 100's top 10, and a record-breaking amount of streams that consistently make him the most popular artist across platforms, Drake is becoming one of the best artists of his generation. In 2018 alone, Drake scored two No. 1 hits that topped the Billboard charts for 19 weeks. Following his Scorpion album release, Drake took seven spots in the Hot 100's top 10, breaking a record for the most simultaneous top 10 singles that was previously set by The Beatles, with five songs in 1964.
According to Billboard Magazine, Drake is known for being one of the biggest stars of his era and arguably one of the best musical artists to ever live. Despite all of his accomplishments, Drake recognizes a true Canadian athlete when he sees one and decided to wear R.J. Barrett's old MVA high school jersey to honor his legacy that continues to grow. Go Eagles!
