Duke's Jared McCain Slowly Carving Out Bigger Role

The 6-foot-3 guard had a relatively sluggish start to his collegiate career, but is steadily finding his rhythm as the season progresses.

Competing for as talented a program as Duke – holding a number of potential draft prospects – opportunities are not always easy to come by in order to prove your worth to NBA scouts. 

And the Blue Devils' starting shooting guard, Jared McCain, had not been making the most of his opportunities to begin the season to his detriment – leading to a dip in draft stock and subsequent doubts about his ability to perform in the NBA. 

In his first five games on the season, McCain saw 22.6 minutes and turned that into eight points per game shooting 34.3% from the field. 

They're valid doubts considering he's a slight 197 pounds at 6-foot-3 playing the two position, along with the fact he that he doesn't possess any explosive athleticism nor much facilitating capabilities in the backcourt. 

These factors leave him to rely on his outside shooting ability – which is highly proficient in.

Despite those lagging shooting numbers from the field in those five contests, the former five-star recruit and McDonald's All-American weathered the storm and maintained a 40.9% 3-point percentage – showing his promise as a consistent shooting threat even when enduring a rough patch.

Though he's started in all of Duke's 16 games this season, he's been receiving  an uptick in minutes in the last month where the Blue Devils have won eight straight.

And in those games, McCain has turned up his shooting efficiency from all around while claiming a larger role, becoming more involved in the offense and providing an added spark by pressuring the rim as an adept contact finisher.

Scoring 15.8 points on 50-43-92 shooting splits throughout the winning streak, his role as a knockdown shooter – in many different preparations – has helped Duke to hold the No. 11 spot in the country with a 13-3 record.

While McCain has his inadequacies as a 6-3 shooting guard vying for a spot in the modern NBA, there's still upside for him as a deadly shooter. 

Shooting 42% on 5.1 3-point tries per game as a freshman is special, but his focus should be in deepening his offensive arsenal and continuing to develop in his concerted defensive efforts.

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