Duke basketball star Jared McCain teases his future on social media.
Jared McCain, a beloved Duke basketball player, looks to be facing a difficult decision.
With 2.7 million TikTok followers and many NIL partnerships, Jared McCain is clearly doing well financially as a Duke basketball player. Despite the 6-foot-3 sharpshooter’s continuously growing ranking among NBA gurus, many supporters on social media have voiced optimism that he would return to Durham for a sophomore season.
But on the issue of mock drafts, the most recent one, courtesy of Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman, anticipates the former five-star prospect and McDonald’s All-American will come off the board at No.
The Oklahoma City Thunder finished 12th overall. If he’s a predicted lottery pick, it’s possible he’s considering foregoing his three years of remaining eligibility to test his ability at the next level and obtain a guaranteed contract.
McCain started all 36 games at Duke and was named All-ACC Freshman and NCAA All-Region. He averaged 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 41.4 percent from outside the arc.
Whatever he decides to do next, he will undoubtedly be grateful for his debut season in Durham. On Saturday evening, the 20-year-old shared a series of photos and videos from the season on Instagram, captioned with one word in all caps: “GRATITUDE.”.
“It’s meant everything to me to come here,” Jared McCain told Blue Devil Country on SI during Duke’s news conference following the Elite Eight defeat to NC State in Dallas on Sunday night. “For [Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer] to trust in me, for my teammates to believe in me. They instilled confidence in me, particularly him [Scheyer] right here, especially at the start of the year when I felt like I couldn’t get things going as a freshman.”
Although the Blue Devils may lose numerous students to the pros in the coming weeks, the only other Duke prospect in either round of Wasserman’s newest mock draft is sophomore forward Kyle Filipowski, who was selected 13th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers.
The deadline for students to declare for the NBA draft is April 26 (June 26-27). They have until June 16 to remove their names and return to school.
