James Harden. Dwyane Wade. DeMar DeRozan.

Duke freshman RJ Barrett's game has been compared to many of the game's greatest slashers, a relentless scoring ability from a player whose length and skill set causes major issues for opposing defenders.

But Barrett's primary strength, according to someone who has coached him for nearly a decade, is a Kobe Bryant-type mentality that he's better than the guy in front of him and will show it every time down the floor.

"This kid is like a real 1988 New Yorker. He's not some 2016 Instagram model. He's trying to kill you," Barrett's youth coach Dwayne Washington, a Bronx native, said in a recent interview with The Knicks Blog. "He is what people say New Yorkers are supposed to be -- aggressive, determined, confident and always pushing the envelope. That's how you get to greatness."

An offensive assassin with the Blue Devils, Barrett played second fiddle to presumptive No. 1 pick Zion Williamson much of the season, but quietly scored more points (860) than any freshman in ACC history. The 6-foot-7 wing averaged 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists as a primary option for coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Projected to go No. 3 overall to the New York Knicks in most updated mocks in Thursday's NBA Draft, Barrett is prepared for the next step in the Big Apple, but many analysts are not convinced there's enough talent around him to find immediate success.

“He’s walking into a situation that, through no fault of his own, that is going to be very challenging,” ESPN's Mike Greenberg said this month. “And yes, obviously, his talent will win out. If he is a great player, eventually that will all be fine. But if they draft him three and don’t add a really significant free agent, the Knicks are going to be really bad again, no matter how good he is. And you know this town, that is going to go over very, very — if KD and Kyrie are playing over there [points to Brooklyn] — that’s going to go over very badly.”

Barrett is battling Murray State's Ja Morant for the right to be the second player called at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn this week. The Memphis Grizzlies hold the second pick and have a decision to make at the top once the Pelicans take Williamson at No. 1.

Barrett was the top-ranked player in the 2018 recruiting cycle, per the 247Sports Composite, and exceeded expectations as a premiere scorer.

Writes CBS Sports college basketball analyst Gary Parrish, "Basically everybody, this time last year, had Barrett projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. But he lost that label shortly after the start of the season — mostly because (Zion) Williamson, his teammate at Duke, emerged as a monster. Still, Barrett was super-productive in his one season with the Blue Devils."