Duke freshman Jared McCain has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft, he announced via social media Friday.
McCain, a 6-foot-3 guard, is a projected first-round pick in this summer’s draft; in The Athletic’s pre-NCAA Tournament mock draft, McCain was slotted as the No. 18 overall pick — and that was before he had two 30-point performances in the Blue Devils’ four postseason contests. For the season, the Sacramento native was second on Duke in scoring (14.3 points per game) and 3-point percentage (41.4 percent), and third in rebounding (5.0 rebounds per game).
Thank you Duke 💙💙 pic.twitter.com/f37CYRlH7S
— Jared Mccain (@J_mccain_24) April 12, 2024
As the highest-rated signee from the Blue Devils’ second-ranked 2023 recruiting class, McCain more than delivered in his one season in Durham. The former five-star prospect was one of two every-game starters for Jon Scheyer’s second team, with sophomore forward Kyle Filipowski — who also declared for this summer’s draft Friday — as the other. After a slow first three weeks of the season, McCain became one of Duke’s most potent offensive threats.
Per KenPom, McCain finished the season with the Blue Devils’ best individual offensive rating, highlighted by his three 30-point efforts in the team’s final 12 games.
Arguably the highlight of McCain’s lone season in Durham came on Feb. 17 at Florida State, when he scored 35 points — making eight of his 11 3-point attempts — and tied Zion Williamson for the program’s single-game freshman scoring record.
And although Duke came up just short of the Final Four, losing to rival NC State in the Elite Eight, McCain was a key reason the Blue Devils got that far in the first place. His 30 points against James Madison in the round of 32 were critical to Scheyer making the second weekend of the tournament for the first time as head coach, and his 30 points against the Wolfpack were what initially kept Duke in an eventual 12-point loss.
Those March Madness performances impressed scouts The Athletic spoke to during the NCAA Tournament, solidifying what was already an expected decision from McCain. Between McCain’s sharpshooting — he made multiple 3s in nine of Duke’s last 13 games — and his above-average rebounding for his size, not to mention his work ethic and positive outlook, McCain should fit seamlessly in multiple professional rotations and locker rooms.
He also enters the NBA as one of the more high-profile college players available this cycle, largely thanks to his massive social media following. McCain has 2.7 million TikTok followers and another 1 million on Instagram.
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(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
