Jared McCain is headed to the NBA.
At least, that’s what he and his agents hope will happen in the upcoming NBA Draft.
The Duke freshman declared for the NBA Draft, just a couple weeks after Duke was eliminated from the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament.
McCain had an historic game during the tournament, lighting up James Madison in the second round for 30 points. It was the most points by a freshman without a turnover in… ever.
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In his freshman season at Duke, McCain averaged over 14 points and nearly two assists per game. He appeared in all of Duke’s games, averaging over 31 minutes per game.
The analysis of his NBA Draft prospects on Sports Illustrated seem to paint a potentially very positive future.
“McCain is a guard who can provide a lot to a team when he’s hot, but losing that consistency and going into a slump affects a lot of his game,” a Sports Illustrated analyst said. “But throughout his lone college season, there wasn’t much to suspect that his shot selection wouldn’t naturally translate to the NBA.”
McCain lamented his move after his freshman season, though of course he’s moving forward into the NBA Draft full-steam.
No matter who grabs McCain in the NBA Draft, they’re getting a dynamic player who also understands social media. With a million followers on Instagram, that’s not a bad thing in today’s sports environment.
The fact that he paints his fingernails is also of interest.
Caleb Williams was last week selected first in the NFL Draft. Williams, a quarterback out of USC, also paints his fingernails.
While some guys have said that is disqualifying to lead a team, they are flat-out wrong.
Generally, McCain is figured to be a first-round pick in the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft.
Will his painted fingernails play a role in a team drafting him or not drafting him? It’s doubtful. If a player can execute on the court, they can execute on the court. If someone has an issue with a teammate painting his fingernails, they’d better produce more.
McCain has a lot of upside in the NBA. And for people looking for a player to buck trends and march to the beat of his own drum, McCain is the guy.
Hopefully fans of any team that drafts him will agree.
