The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor updated his 2024 NBA draft player rankings earlier this week, and he thinks Duke star Jared McCain is the ninth-best player available.
McCain, a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 14.3 points and shot 41.4% from 3-point range last season. At just 197 pounds, he still averaged 5.0 rebounds and ended the season with four double-doubles.
O’Connor described McCain as a “sharpshooter with a savvy sense for playmaking” and compared him to former Blue Devil Seth Curry.
The California native played 36 games during his freshman campaign, and he scored at least 20 points nine times. In fact, he ended the season with three 30-point games, two of which came in the NCAA Tournament. He tied the school freshman record for points in a game (35 against Florida State) and points in a March Madness game (32 against NC State).
Teammate Kyle Filipowski, a Second Team All-American who averaged more than 16 points and eight rebounds per game, slotted in as the 26th-ranked player on the board.
In his first mock draft after Sunday’s lottery, O’Connor projected McCain as the 15th overall pick to the Miami Heat and Filipowski as the 28th pick to the Denver Nuggets.