New York Knicks swingman RJ Barrett is looking poised to take the next step as he enters his sophomore campaign in the upcoming season. The former Duke standout recently worked out with renowned trainer Drew Hanlen during the offseason which primarily focused on improving the mechanics of his jump shot.
“We did everything; we rebuilt his jump shot. We moved his elbow out a little bit. We worked on improving his posture. We worked on making it more fluid. I thought he had a kind of a two-piece shot instead of a smoother one-part shot (so we worked on that). We also worked on balance – improvement of balance so that every shot is consistent. So he's developed a lot of confidence,” Hanlen said via SNY TV.
Barrett is coming off a rookie campaign that saw him average norms of 14.3 points on 40.2 percent field goal shooting, coupled with 5.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists through 56 games played. His numbers appeared to be underwhelming to many, especially after being selected with the third overall pick by the Knicks in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Article Continues BelowHis production on the floor also failed to translate into wins for the rebuilding Knicks squad which finished with a 21-45 record to nab the 12th spot in the Eastern Conference last season. He will be entering his sophomore campaign with a year of experience under his belt together with the young Knicks pieces in the likes of Mitchell Robinson, Kevin Knox, Immanuel Quickley, and Obi Toppin.
After a productive offseason of putting in work with one of the best skill trainers today, RJ Barrett is hoping to have a more solid outing in his sophomore season in Knicks uniform and be able to take his team to greater heights moving forward.
Barrett and the Knicks will kick off the 2020-21 NBA season against the Indiana Pacers on Dec .23.