Duke Recruiting Prize Reacts to Jared McCain Mania
It’s too early to properly speculate whether Jared McCain will become a Duke basketball sophomore or turn pro early. Even so, given his play of late, it’s impossible to ignore the thought of the Californian TikTok sensation potentially starring alongside next season’s top-ranked incoming freshman, Montverde (Fla.) forward Cooper Flagg.
On that note, Flagg, a 6-foot-9, 200-pound phenom whose length and instincts stand out on both ends of the floor in any game he plays, chimed in on McCain’s career-best stat line that propelled the No. 9 Blue Devils (20-5, 11-3 ACC) to an encouraging 76-67 road win over unranked Florida State (13-12, 7-7 ACC) on Saturday. Needless to say, Flagg sounded impressed by McCain, who tied Zion Williamson’s Duke freshman record with his 35 points while shooting 8-for-11 from three against the Seminoles.
Talking to League Ready after helping his top-ranked Montverde squad improve its record to 28-0, the 17-year-old used the word “underrated” when appreciating the 19-year-old McCain’s feat of coming up only one 3-point make shy of the Duke basketball record (nine by Shane Battier in 2000, matched by JJ Redick in 2005): “I mean, that really embodies who he is, I feel like, as a player. I feel like he was hunting his shot, and it was falling, you know, almost setting that record. Just crazy.
“He’s a great player. I think he’s kind of underrated. People kind of underestimate how good he really is. But he’s a great player. And he came out on fire today.”
