Shooting, shooting, more shooting and a touch of collective defense. No doubt, Jared McCain is ready for today's NBA. The Duke guard had a great first NCAA season with Duke, often a guarantee of quality training. Despite a premature exit during March Madness, and a defeat against the nice surprise North Carolina State, McCain was to his advantage, scoring 32 of his team's 64 points against the Wolfpack. His place in the first round is already guaranteed, and he has continued to rise in the projections.
Profile
Job : leader/back
Size : 1m88
Weight : 92 kg
Team : Duke Blue Devils (NCAA)
Stats 2023/24: 14.3 points (at 46.2%), 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists in 31.6 minutes
Strong points
– Outside shooting. 56.6%. Jared McCain's 3-point percentage on the fast break this season – being the NCAA player who has converted the most (30/53) – says a lot about the quality of his wrist. Supported by impeccable mechanics, the Dukie is undoubtedly part of the elite snipers of this Draft. Another sign of his confidence behind the arc, he was more skillful on his contested winning shots than without a defender around him (44.3% against 39.4, 41.4% overall average at 3-pts) !
– Defense away from the ball. In the same way that he could quickly establish himself as an end-of-system shooter in the NBA, he is comfortable in this register defensively. Jared McCain reads the passing lanes well, and defends intelligently on defensive assists. Without being an exceptional athlete, which sometimes penalizes him for blocking his opponent in one-on-one situations, his instinct makes him a very good rebounder for his modest size.
Weakness
– What position in the NBA? Not very tall, Jared McCain seems limited in certain aspects of his game to evolve as a leader at the next level. Not explosive enough on his first step, nor technical in his dribbling, he struggles to make a difference with the ball in hand. In a Duke team that played with three backs on the floor, he was relieved of creation and did not particularly shine with his creativity as a passer.
Comparison
A high-level shooter in the body of a small point guard, Jared McCain recalls another former Blue Devil, Seth Curry. There is also Donte DiVincenzoa little less high and longer.
Prognosis
Between the end of the lottery for teams lacking shooters like Sacramento (13e choice) from which it originates, and the end of the Top 20 (Sixers in 16, Lakers in 17, Magic in 18, Raptors in 19).
