Where Jared McCain Ranks Among All-Time Duke Basketball Rookie Snipers

There's a long way to go, but Jared McCain is challenging Duke basketball freshman shooting records.

Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Jared McCain wasn't prolific in Duke basketball's 75-53 win at unranked Pitt (10-6, 1-4 ACC) on Tuesday night. Still, the 6-foot-3 sturdy guard finished 2-for-5 beyond the arc. And with his 12 points, the five-star freshman joined sophomore forward Kyle Filipowski as the only two in double figures for the No. 11 Blue Devils (12-3, 3-1 ACC).

He's now knocked down at least two 3-pointers in seven straight outings, shooting a combined 21-for-46 from downtown as a volume deep threat across that stretch. He's done so with an outside stroke that is trustworthy in spot-up mode, deadly in transition, and clearly among the silkiest the program has seen in recent years.

So, where do his 3-point numbers stand among all-time Blue Devil rookies?

If the season ended today, McCain (34-for-78 from three overall) would sit at No. 3 on the list of freshman 3-point percentages.

His 43.6 percent barely bests No. 4 Chris Collins (43.5 in 1992-93), No. 5 Dariq Whitehead (42.9 last year), and No. 6 Trajan Langdon (42.8 in 1994-95). The 19-year-old California product trails No. 2 AJ Griffin (44.7 in 2021-22) and record-holder Daniel Ewing (45.7 in 2001-02).

Highest 3pt FG% by a Duke Freshman

1. Daniel Ewing: .457
2. AJ Griffin: .447
3. Jared McCain: .436 pic.twitter.com/tDzv2jOZV5

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 10, 2024

In terms of quantity, he needs only 24 more threes to tie Austin Rivers (58 makes in 2011-12) and break into the top 10 among Duke basketball freshmen. But he has 63 more to go to match Gary Trent Jr.'s record (97 in 2017-18); the Blue Devils' all-time 3-point shooter and points leader, JJ Redick, hit a now-second-best 95 in 2002-03.

Speaking of Redick, at the charity stripe, his still-standing Blue Devil rookie record of 91.9 percent (102-for-111) isn't safe. No, Jared McCain is at 90.5 percent (19-for-21), albeit with less than 20 percent as many attempts as Redick; Kyrie Irving's 90.1 percent (64-for-71 in 2010-11) appears next on the list.

McCain, the only 2023-24 Duke newbie to have started every contest, is now averaging 12.1 points, shooting 46.0 percent from the field.

NEXT GAME: at home versus unranked Georgia Tech (8-7, 1-3 ACC), 5 p.m. ET Saturday (ACC Network)

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