With the No.3 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks selected Montverde Academy alumnus R.J. Barrett '18 to join their roster in the upcoming NBA season.

This marks the seventh NBA Draft pick that competed at Montverde Academy dating back to 2005. The previous drafted athletes include: Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), D'Angelo Russell (Brooklyn Nets), Luc Mbah a Moute (Drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks and currently plays for the Los Angeles Clippers), Dakari Johnson (Drafted by Oklahoma City Thunder and currently competes for the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles in China), and Solomon Alabi (Drafted by the Dallas Mavericks and currently plays for Barako Bull Energy in the Philippines). Barrett's selection also marked the ninth professional basketball player to compete in the NBA after being coached by Kevin Boyle.

Leading up to the draft night, Barrett received the opportunity to practice with the New York basketball staff and train in their state-of-the-art facilities.  After several workouts, the Knicks saw Barrett's potential to be promising.

"I honestly didn't need to see a workout where he [Barrett] comes into the gym and gets to work out with a couple of our coaches," said Knicks Head Coach David Fizdale. "But the fact that he did come in there and he went at it full throttle -- it put the stamp on it for me."

During his time at Montverde Academy, Barrett led the Eagles to a perfect winning record of 35-0 and earned several National titles for the 2018-2019 season including: 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. Off the court, Barrett participated in Basketball Buddies, a program that taught basketball to kids with special needs. He also showed his commitment to his academics by maintaining a 3.1 GPA.

"Thank you to Dr. Kesselring, Coach Boyle, Coach Miller, all my coaches, and teachers at Montverde Academy for always pushing me to be the best I could on the court and in the classroom," said Barrett. "We did it the hard way, never took the easy way out. Thank you for helping me to achieve my dream of playing in the NBA."

After high school, Barrett competed for Duke University earning the USA Today National Player of the Year and the Jerry West Award for the nation's best shooting guard. He joined teammate Zion Williamson (No.1 2019 NBA Draft Pick) as a consensus first-team All-American, marking the first time in NCAA history a pair of freshman teammates accomplished the feat.

"R.J. will flourish here in New York,'' Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski said on his SiriusXM show that he hosted in New York. "He wants to be here. He is so mature. He just turned 19, but he's been a part of the Canadian basketball program since [he was] a little guy, always played up."

Other MVA alumni signed as undrafted free agents

After adding one of the top players in the NBA, Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers signed Univerity of Nevada forward Jordan Caroline '14 on an Exhibit 10 contract.

An Exhibit 10 contract can be converted into a two-way contract, and also "pay the player from $5,000 to $50,000 if the player is waived by his NBA team, signs with the G-League, is assigned to the NBA team's G-League affiliate, and stays there at least 60 days."

For more information on the Exhibit 10 contract click here.

As a member of the wolf pack, Caroline led the Pack to a second Mountain West regular season title and the second Sweet 16 appearance in school history. He also averaged nearly a double-double with 17 points and 9 rebounds per game.

The Lakers summer league roster already features second-round pick Talen Horton-Tucker, as well as undrafted free agents like UNC Wilmington forward Devontae Cacok, Gonzaga guard Zach Norvell and Mississippi State forward Aric Holman. If Caroline proves himself in the next coming months, he will be able to earn a spot on the Lakers' roster.

Another alumnus that signed as an undrafted free agent was Florida State center Christ Koumadje '15. Currently, the Sixers plan to have Koumadje compete in their Summer League and will make their final decision based on his performance.

As a senior for the Seminoles, Koumadje started all 37 games last season and averaged 6.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 15.5 minutes per game. If Koumadje can earn his spot on the Sixers' official roster, there will be three former MVA basketball players competing on the same team (Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid).

MVA wishes the best of luck to all the alumni and their future endeavors.