Jared McCain Talks Duke, Cooper Flagg, March Madness, 76ers and More in B/R Interview
Philadelphia 76ers rookie and Duke alum Jared McCain has a bold prediction for how far the Blue Devils can go in the 2025 NCAA tournament.
"2025 national champs is how far we'll go," McCain told B/R in an interview before attending No. 1 Duke's Sweet 16 matchup against No. 4 Arizona on Thursday.
The Blue Devils moved closer to making McCain's prediction a reality, outlasting the Wildcats 100-93 on Thursday before trouncing No. 2 Alabama 85-65 in the Elite Eight on Saturday to reach the Final Four in San Antonio for the first time since 2022, the program's final year under legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski. McCain has been impressed with Duke's 35-3 campaign under his former head coach Jon Scheyer, saying the team is peaking at the right time.
"I think they've played really well, I think they've gotten better throughout the season, and I think that's the main thing you want in a college team. … You want to be playing the best in March, and that's happening for us right now," McCain said. "I think those early losses [against] Kansas and Kentucky, I think those helped us. I think all teams need those early losses, and we learned from them, and we obviously became a better team from them. … I think they're better than what they were and I think they're playing their best basketball right now."
One of the primary catalysts for Duke's success has been star freshman Cooper Flagg, who is one of the finalists for National Player of the Year. Flagg's incredible performances throughout the season solidified what McCain already knew about the 18-year-old's winning mentality.
"When I first saw him, I saw him play in high school and I got to scrimmage with him, and he just makes winning plays. That's who you want to play with," McCain said of Flagg. "He's unselfish, and sometimes I heard Scheyer talk about it, like he needs to be even more selfish. He's a great person to play with, good person outside of the court, and those are the teammates that you want to have. It would've been really cool to play with him at Duke, but I'm excited just watching him. He's obviously an elite player."
McCain also reminisced about his own March Madness experience last year, which included two 30-point performances and an upset win over No. 1 Houston in the Sweet 16 before Duke lost to NC State in the Elite Eight.
"When we beat Houston to go to the Elite Eight, I just remember celebrating in the back with your best friends at the time," said McCain, who scored 32 points in the loss to the Wolfpack. "It's almost the greatest feeling in the world, because all the hard work, everything you've gone through throughout the season, you're with them so much through school, through practices, it just means a lot."
After being selected by the Sixers with the No. 16 pick in the 2024 NBA draft, McCain quickly turned heads as one of the best first-year players in the league. He was named Rookie of the Month in November, which featured a career-high 34-point performance in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 21-year-old attributed his easy transition to the NBA to the struggles he endured before the season started.
"In Summer League, I definitely struggled, so I watched film from there and I learned from that," McCain said. "I was on the scout team for training camp, so I was able to just play super free, and it didn't really matter what happened because they really wanted the other team to win, but you know, I was winning. I think it was pretty seamless for me. I definitely had my struggles in Summer League, but it felt nice. I felt comfortable, and whenever I got in the game, I knew I was just gonna go out there and trust my work, and it was gonna pay off."
Unfortunately, McCain's rookie year was cut short after 23 games due to a torn meniscus that required season-ending surgery. He ended the year with averages of 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Despite the injury, McCain is maintaining his positive outlook as he continues his rehab and recovery.
"I'm doing great, I'm doing great mentally, physically," he said. "I can't wait to get back out there. Watching the games, it can get frustrating, but I know that this happened for a reason, and I know I'll be back even better."
McCain undoubtedly wasn't the only person to feel frustrated while watching Sixers games this season, as Philadelphia has trudged through a massively disappointing campaign. Stars Joel Embiid (knee) and Paul George (adductor) have also been ruled out for the remainder of the season, and Tyrese Maxey has missed significant time throughout the year with multiple injuries. The team is 23-52 and has already been eliminated from playoff contention, falling short of the postseason for the first time since 2016-17.
"It's an up-and-down season, it happens, but I always like to think you gotta go through hard times for the sun to come out. It's gotta rain before the sun comes out," McCain said optimistically. "I always look at it from a positive outlook, and I feel like once we're all healthy, once we're all back, we'll be a great team. We just gotta get there, we gotta build our chemistry, and I think that'll come with next season."
During his time away from the court, McCain has continued to grow his brand through a new partnership with Dove Men+Care. He said he uses the products as part of his pregame routines, and he hopes to be an example of how self-care can be just as beneficial on the court as it is off of it.
"A lot of my partnerships, I like to make sure they fit with my brand and are very authentic to me, and I think it was perfect," McCain said of the partnership, noting that the Whole Body Deo is his favorite line of products. "My whole team knows, the organization knows whenever I feel good, whenever I feel like I look good, I feel like I play good. With Dove Men+Care, it makes it super easy, I use it every day. It's just a seamless partnership, it makes perfect sense for me."
That type of confidence helped McCain set himself apart from other rookies through his unique use of social media. Known for his TikTok dance videos, he said he didn't feel the need to cut back on his social media usage when he got to the NBA, though he became more selective about the timing of his posts.
"I feel like I was able to keep it up. I think it's something that I've done since I was in high school, so I wasn't gonna stop posting," he said. "Obviously, depending on how the season goes and how I'm playing, you feel like you just want to get off social media sometimes, so just depending on that, that's how I determine if I'm posting. If I just wanted to post a dance, post me singing or doing something stupid, I didn't really care, just don't gotta look at the comments."
For now, McCain is counting down to his eventual return to the court. He said he plans to help the Sixers get back to their winning ways, and he'll do whatever it takes to make that happen.
"I think what I bring to the table is a winning attitude. Winning plays, whatever that is, shooting, leadership, being able to distribute the ball, whatever it is," McCain said. "I can't wait to just play basketball. I was talking to my teammates earlier about how, once I get out there, I might just cry the first time I check into the game. So I'm just excited to be back."
