YouTube Gold: Why 15 Teams Passed On Jared McCain

And why Philadelphia is glad it didn’t.

If you go by draft order, Jared McCain should not be a serious candidate for Rookie of the Year.

There were fifteen players picked before him including fellow guards Reed Sheppard, Stephon Castle, Rob Dillingham, Nikola Topic, Devin Carter and Pitt’s Bub Carrington, who went two picks earlier at #14.

This video delves into McCain’s impressive situation with Philadelphia. As noted here, the Sixers have tremendous injury issues and McCain has gone from a probable development player to a starter to, now, the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year.

Duke fans had a better sense of him than most people because we got to see him up close and personal. Remember how he gutted Clemson with three late steals? Remember how he dominated Florida State on the road?

We also saw him turn out to be a terrific rebounder - at 6-2.

So while most of us didn’t know that he’d be this good this fast, we probably thought more highly of him than a lot of NBA types did, so it’s nice to see his hard work pay off.