Jared McCain Honored
What a season the freshman has had for Duke!
Duke freshman Jared McCain has had a terrific year. He’s been a deadeye shooter obviously - that’s his calling card - but he’s also been a surprisingly good rebounder, his three late steals against Clemson sealed victory in that game and all-around he’s a good defender.
So it was no surprise that he was named to the Kyle Macey National Freshmen All-America Team - and he’s a finalist for Freshman Of The Year.
He’s not the first Blue Devil to be there. Five Duke players have won the Freshman Of The Year previously. Jabari Parker got it, then Brandon Ingram and Marvin Bagley, followed by Zion Williamson, who was a runaway choice in 2019. And last year, Kyle Filipowski got it too.
Also making the cut from the ACC: UNC’s Elliot Cadeau, Notre Dame’s Markus Burton, Pitt’s Carlton Carrington and Baye Ndongo from Georgia Tech.
Back to McCain.
He’s a really unusual player. Obviously his shooting can be off the charts, but he’s such an effective rebounder. When you look up and realize he’s close to a double-double, and he’s just 6-3, it’s amazing.
We said early on that he’s like a combination of Kobe Bryant and Jose Alvarado because he works extremely hard and has great confidence, yet plays with the kind of scrappiness that Alvarado shows night in and night out.
He’s been a tremendous amount of fun to watch this year.