Duke freshman Jared McCain was the standout player from the first and second round games in Brooklyn.
This weekend I attended the first and second round NCAA Tournament games in Brooklyn and a couple players stood out as interesting NBA Draft prospects the Wizards should keep an eye on.
The most impressive performances at this site came from Duke’s freshman guard Jared McCain. Duke lists McCain at 6’3 but after seeing him up close I’d wager he’ll measure closer to 6’1.5. McCain isn’t a particularly explosive athlete or much of a creative playmaker which are both potential limitations for him at his size.
To stick in the NBA as an undersized combo guard you have to be so efficient on offense and be solid enough on defense to not be picked on. Fortunately for McCain, he checks both boxes at the college level. He’s sturdily built and moves his feet well defensively. He gives off poor man’s Jalen Brunson vibes in the way he’s able to probe and manipulate the defense.
He’s also a dynamic scorer and that was on full display in Brooklyn. In their opening, a blowout win over Vermont, he had 15 points (4-9 from the field, 2-6 from three), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.
In their second game, also a blowout win, he had 30 points (10-15 from the field, 8-11 from three), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. That was the second most points ever by a Duke freshman behind only Zion Williamson’s 32 points.
During the regular season, he averaged 13.6 PPG on 45.8/40.6/87.3 shooting splits. His solid build, tight handle, and deep three-point range have allowed him to be one of the best pick-and-roll scoring threats in the country. He’s also converted on 38% of his pull-up threes, which will translate well into the open NBA game.
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I’m still not sure what the ceiling is for a smaller guard who hasn’t shown much playmaking acumen in his lone college season. However, at a certain point in the draft a team like Washington that’s in desperate need of some young guards should take a long look at someone like McCain.
In the most recent Bleav in Wizards podcast, we listed him as a player to watch with the Wizards’ second first-round pick. With his performances in Brooklyn, he’s likely played his way out of their draft range.
Rookie Scale puts together a consensus Big Board based on the averaging of major, reputable draft analysts and McCain currently sits at 19 in their composite rankings. It’ll be interesting to see if a strong rest of the tournament allows him to sneak up into lottery range.