Shelden Williams Believes Jared McCain's Recent Play Has Been Inspired By Key X-Factor

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Second-year head coach John Scheyer's 2023-24 Duke Blue Devils are currently 20-5 and on the rise as a major national threat this season.

Freshman star guard Jared McCain has been really cutting loose of late. Most recently, he submitted a stellar 35-point, four-rebound performance during the Blue Devils' 76-67 win over Florida State on Saturday.

In the latest episode of his podcast Bleav In Duke, former Blue Devils star Shelden Williams believes that McCain's terrific recent play has been inspired by a key X-factor: the presence of his grandparents at games.

"He did hit a little bit different. You know, I don't remember JJ taking a lot of dribbles and just catch a shoot no matter where he was, a guy in front of his face," Williams said. "It doesn't matter if the guy's in front of you and now that ball's going in no matter where he's at. So that was the most crazy thing I remember about JJ [Redick] because no matter what, he was doing nothing up there. And it was going in the way that, you know, McCain has been coming on.... I don't know what's going on, but ever since his grandparents came back, you know, he's been up in the ball well. So I'm not sure what your names are, but grandparents, please come back!"

Williams' cohost, Stephen Wiseman, agreed that McCain has been on fire of late.

"We've both seen a lot of Duke basketball and like we started talking about great performances, you know, and that kind of the history of Duke basketball that we've seen in the last 15, 20 years that was right there with him. It was really fun."