Today’s piece is on the lethal sharpshooting guard for the Blue Devils who’s stock has been on fire as of late, Jared McCain. Be sure to also check out the previous piece on Devin Carter here.
Jared McCain | 6’3.25 Guard | Duke | 20 years old
The Intro
I don’t know what’s happening — all the mid-first round guys who I had been planning on writing about this year have all turned into hot names for the lottery teams. I swear, if I start hearing rumours about the Portland Trailblazers reaching on Jaylen Wells or Baylor Scheierman at 14, I’m going to go insane.
If a team is picking in the teens, they’re in McCain’s range. This once again means that the Raptors are at the tail end of an expected range for a prospect, but we ball nonetheless. Talented players have fallen before.
McCain had a bit of a slow start to the year, only averaging about 7.6 points per game on 36% shooting in his first 8 contests for the Blue Devils, but really started to find his rhythm from December 9th onwards; where he averaged 16.2 points per game on 48/41/90 shooting splits. Looking for a guy besides Reed Sheppard who projects as maybe having a 50/40/90 season at some point? Look no further.
The Offence
I don’t have a lot of qualms with McCain on offence. As far as scoring goes, he’s fantastic. Elite efficiency from both deep and midrange, and an excellent scorer off the dribble. One thing about McCain is that while he had some struggles early on in the season, his three point percentages rarely dipped below 40%.
His shooting never fails to impress and I can imagine that a backcourt featuring McCain and Gradey Dick will keep every defence in the NBA on their toes with how much chaos that duo can provide.
I like his movement shooting a lot as well.
His athleticism is underwhelming, don’t expect any explosiveness from his game at the next level. McCain makes his money with his efficient shooting and by being crafty with his at-the-rim finishing, even if he doesn’t usually get up for dunks. He defends the ball well on his way up and has a floater he can pull out on occasion as well.
While his handle is what I would put in “pretty good” territory, I don’t expect him to be breaking down any offences right away at the next level. In spite of that, McCain’s impressive patience and ability to react to what the defence gives him makes him a valuable secondary ball handler and playmaker.
McCain’s assist numbers are low for a guard of his size. One would expect the team that drafts him to eventually develop him into more of a point guard role – but McCain’s shown himself to be capable of making some pretty advanced reads and running the offence if given the opportunity.
Sharing the point guard responsibilities with Tyrese Proctor and Jeremy Roach meant that McCain could mostly focus on scoring in more of a combo guard role, which I still expect to be the case for him initially in the NBA.
The Defence
While he’s no Devin Carter, I’ve been impressed with McCain defensively. At his size and neutral wingspan, I expect him to be targeted at the NBA by bigger players, but I don’t expect him to go down without a fight.
He fits the role of a defensive pest, someone who may not be locking anybody up but is always swatting and poking at the ball, diving into passing lanes, catching careless creators unaware.
His quick hands and feet mean he’ll still be able to hold his own against some of the faster guards closer to his size at the NBA level, and I don’t expect him to get blown by very often unless there’s a major strength difference.
Nevertheless, the size and wingspan is still a concern. I’m curious to see if his development on defence mirrors that of other small guards who focus on pestering, like Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, or if the team that drafts him just focuses on his offensive abilities. I don’t think his defensive instincts are quite at that level, but if he can focus on being at least a neutral defender in that same archetype I think he’ll have a long NBA career.
Brendan’s Take
If those who read my draft articles haven’t figured it out by now, I typically drift towards favouring prospects who are good at a lot of different things on the court, rather than prospects who are really good at one thing but have a glaring weakness elsewhere. I think McCain fits pretty easily into that former description, and it’s pretty obvious that he’s the best prospect on the Duke squad that made it to the Elite 8 this past March.
I think McCain’s selection range is shooting up a bit closer to the lottery so I’ll be a little surprised if he’s still an option at 19 by the time the draft rolls around, but I think that he is someone I would explore a potential trade up for to secure him if he is indeed trending out of Toronto’s range. If he’s at 19, call his name. The Raptors have never drafted a player from Duke University, so let’s change that.
Of the realistic targets the Raptors could have at the 19th pick, McCain would be my top choice. Not only is he 6th overall on my big board, but the fit is ideal as a backup guard capable of slotting into the 1 or the 2, both positions where the Raptors badly need depth. Pairing his spacing with Gradey Dick should also help this team rapidly develop into a new offensive identity focused on spacing the floor (a blueprint that all teams should be following, going off the success of the Celtics and Warriors). Providing Scottie Barnes with another valuable shooter who is already capable of hitting a high clip from NBA distance is something that all Raptors fans should be wanting.
There are a few higher ranked freshmen in this class, most of them either completely raw or out of Toronto’s draft range (or both). McCain is young but he isn’t somebody who’s going to need to spend a year in the G League before he’s ready to contribute. Another point to him there.
It would require the right stars aligning and the right players being picked ahead, but there’s certainly a real possibility that McCain could join his fellow Duke alumni, RJ Barrett and Gary Trent Jr, on the Raptors on June 26.
Stay tuned tomorrow for a scouting report on another Duke player!
