Raptors Prospect to Know: Duke's Charismatic Sharpshooter Jared McCain

There's nothing particularly special about Jared McCain's profile.

He's a 6-foot-2 shooter who doesn't really bring much else to the court. He's not a gifted playmaker. He's not going to wow scouts with his athleticism or speed. He looks like a hundred other wannabe NBA prospects who put up impressive numbers in college.

And yet, McCain seems different.

There's an aura about McCain that draws people in. He's an energy giver and someone who gets it. It's how a player with his profile has somehow managed to thrust himself into the middle of the first round and potentially in the conversation at No. 19 if the Toronto Raptors can get a little lucky.

Offensive Profile

McCain is a sharpshooter.

He nailed 41.4% of his three-pointers as a freshman at Duke and his 88.5% free-throw stroke suggests his shooting numbers are very real. Off the ball, he's brilliant. He whizzes around screens and nails catch-and-shoot jumpers with an efficiency that rivals anyone in this year's draft.

"Maybe his best shot is in transition, catch and shoot in transition, or pull-up on his own in transition," said Matthew Giles of Blue Devil Country. "Just perfect, I mean, the form is so square and perfect on his shot and then his ability to attack the basket because he's strong."

McCain averaged 14.3 points for the Blue Devils and shot 52.1% inside the arc. In his four March Madness games, those numbers skyrocketed with McCain averaging 21 points while converting 16 of his 32 three-pointers.

If there's a question about McCain's offense it's his playmaking ability. He averaged just 1.9 assists per game and wasn't asked to do the bulk of the offensive creation on a Duke team that had three other trustworthy guards. If he can't develop those skills and isn't enough of a playmaker to be a more traditional point guard, it may be tough for McCain to find significant playing time. Players with his stature tend to struggle if they're not high-end playmakers.

"Maybe he doesn't have the top-tier speed or acceleration to necessarily be a full-time point guard for a team, but I certainly think he can fill in because he's a trustworthy guy with the ball," said Giles.

Defensive Impact

McCain is a very smart defender.

He's strong and sturdy and that'll give him the ability to hold his own in some matchups. But put simply, it's really hard to be a high-end defender as an undersized shooting guard who lacks speed and agility.

The problem will be if he's not a point guard and is forced to take on opposing wings and play more off the ball. While Toronto found success playing with two smaller guards earlier in the decade, the league is only becoming bigger and more athletic and the Raptors are already on the smaller side. If, for example, McCain and Immanuel Quickley are forced to share a backcourt, Toronto could find itself getting picked on defensively.

"He's not the most athletic player in the draft. I don't think he has the greatest length or anything. But he's gonna execute exactly like he's told," Giles said. "He’s gonna be a quick learner and he'll do everything."

X-Factor

Toronto has talked about the value of having positive people in the locker room and McCain certainly fits that description. He's eccentric and comfortable in who he is and that'll help.

"He's the most positive personality I've ever been around," Giles said. "He impacts anyone around him instantly. He lowers your blood pressure just to talk to him like in those in the locker room. He makes you feel like every question you ask him is the most brilliant thing he's ever been asked. He just completely lights up and engages with you. He’s the same way on the court with his teammates and everything and he's just so comfortable in his own skin."

McCain puts Gradey Dick's social media presence to shame.

The 20-year-old has 2.8 million followers on TikTok, almost 10 times Dick's number of followers, and over 1.1 million followers on Instagram. He's comfortable dancing, singing, and painting his nails, and doesn't seem to care what anyone else thinks.

None of that matters when it comes to his actual basketball skills, but that personality shouldn't hurt Toronto. By all accounts, McCain is a lovable teammate and a hard worker.

"I don't understand how the kid has the energy that he has," Giles said. "I think it's just the energy factor that makes the sky the limit to what he could do in the NBA. I mean, if you went off just his talent, you would probably say maybe he'll just be a good reserve for 10 years in the NBA or something like that or like a starter for a bad thing. But I think there's a much higher ceiling because of who he is."

Raptors Fit

Toronto was the third-worst three-point shooting team in the NBA last season and McCain would certainly help change that. The Raptors have talked about how shooting is always a coveted commodity and McCain is on the short list of the best shooters in this year's class.

The problem for the Raptors is going to be McCain's size.

Toronto needs to get bigger this summer and McCain doesn't help fix that. He'd force the Raptors into some awfully small lineups and McCain's skillset is a little too overlapping with Dick and Gary Trent Jr. as above-average shooters who don't bring a whole lot else to the table.

McCain is widely projected to go before Toronto's pick at No. 19, but if he falls because of his athletic testing, it may be hard for the Raptors to let him drift down into the 20s.