Duke guard Jared McCain receives green room invite for 2024 NBA Draft

Former Duke guard Jared McCain received a green room invite to attend the 2024 NBA Draft with his family, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. McCain, 20, is entering the NBA after having a standout 2023-24 season at Duke. In 36 games last season, he averaged 14.3 points and five rebounds per contest. He was selected to the ACC All-Rookie Team and helped the Blue Devils reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

In Duke’s 93-55 beatdown of the JMU Dukes in the Round of 32 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, McCain exploded for 30 points, draining eight threes and making history in the process. According to ESPN Stats & Info, he became the first freshman with 30 points and no turnovers in an NCAA Tournament game since the field expanded in 1985. His eight three-pointers tied for the second-most by a freshman in an NCAA Tournament game. The eight threes were also a Duke program record for any player in an NCAA Tournament game.

In an interview with On3’s Pete Nakos, McCain talked about dealing with the critics on social media. “It’s tough sometimes, especially when you lose games,” he said in April. “Everybody wants to critique everything. But coach made it very clear at the beginning of the season, that’s going to happen. You just got to stick together, stick to the ones that really are supporting you throughout the whole journey. Because there are so many people that are going to say so many crazy things online, you just have to block it out.”

On3’s James Fletcher III had this to say about McCain when projecting him to go to the Sacramento Kings at No. 13 overall in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft. Here’s the clip on McCain from his 2024 NBA Mock Draft 4.0: First round projections ahead of offseason.

“The Sacramento Kings have an intriguing core which has seen varying degrees of success over the past few seasons. To take the next step, they must figure out the best way to enhance the cast around De’Aaron Fox and Damontas Sabonis,” Fletcher wrote. “Jared McCain is not a direct replacement for a player like Malik Monk, who enters free agency, but he does offer offensive firepower needed alongside the star players or off the bench. Also, a local product, there is a clear fit on the board here.”

ESPN recently projected McCain to be selected by the Philadelphia 76ers at No. 16 overall in a mock draft. in this year’s NBA Draft. Jeremy Woo of ESPN wrote, “The level of spacing and versatility McCain provides on offense should be attractive to the Sixers. Expect this pick to surface in trade conversations, as has been team president Daryl Morey’s M.O. for quite some time.”

On3’s James Fletcher III and Brian Jones also contributed to this article.