Jared McCain gets emotional while praising Scheyer, teammates after Elite Eight loss

Jared McCain, the standout freshman who had two 30-point tournament games, got emotional while talking about his coach and teammates after Sunday’s loss.

Jared McCain scored 21.0 points per game in his first NCAA Tournament, but it wasn’t enough to get Duke to the Final Four.

The Blue Devils lost to NC State for the second time this postseason, part of the Wolfpack’s Cinderella run from the brink of the NIT to the South regional title. McCain scored 32 points in the 76-64 loss, his second 30-point game of the tournament.

After the game, the standout freshman spoke about his teammates and head coach Jon Scheyer, and he couldn’t hold back the emotion.

“It’s meant everything to me to come here,” McCain said. “For Coach to believe in me, for my teammates to believe in me. Especially in the beginning of the year when I felt like, you know, I couldn’t get things going as a freshman, they instilled confidence in me.”

McCain gestured to Scheyer after the last comment, specifying that Scheyer in particular helped cultivate that confidence, before burying his face in his hands. Scheyer reached over and clasped his shoulder, patting him on the back.

McCain, a likely first-round NBA draft pick should he declare, finished with three 30-point games and nine 20-point games as a freshman.