Duke blue devils receive verbal pledge from five-star facility guard Jared McCain in class of 2023

Five-star facility security Jared McCain announced his commitment to Duke on Friday, becoming the Blue Devils’ third five-star pledge in the 2023 tier.

McCain chose the Blue Devil more Gonzaga.

“I want to get through because I know where I want to go,” McCain told ESPN. “As soon as we won the state championship, I was ready. After the tour [Duke] campus, it has been eye-opening. I attended the Virginia game. Family and community atmosphere is what I was looking for. “

McCain becomes the sixth up-and-coming five-star duke to land since Jon Scheyer was appointed coach-in-waiting following Mike Krzyzewski’s announcement of his retirement last spring.

“I have formed a wonderful relationship with Jon Scheyer and the staff that are second to none,” McCain said. “He would call me after both the win and the loss and give me great advice. Chris Carrawell and Nolan Smith are great men and strong communicators. Chris Carrawell is an important person to me. He’s one of my favorites. He has a great energy and way of talking to me and treats me like his own child. He played there and made Duke feel special. .”

And although Krzyzewski won’t be on the show when McCain arrives at school, McCain did get a chance to meet with the legendary coach.

“I don’t think I’ll spend much time with him,” he said. “But he spent a lot of time with me and my parents. He told me how special Duke is and what kind of person he will be in the future.”

McCain, a 6-foot-2 shooter from Centennial High School (California), was ranked 22nd in ESPN 60 for 2023. He averaged 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists. 40% better shot and hit from 3-point with Team Why Not on the 16U Nike EYBL last summer.

He was supposed to play both on and off the ball for Duke. During the transition game, McCain can run to the arc and shoot it consistently. He is effective on tackles, but can also detect and block team-mates’ intrusions. He has a quick and accurate shot. McCain has the ability to use dribbling to create space and score goals, and is one of the best marksmen in the class of 2023.

McCain, a social media celebrity with over a million TikTok followers, is Duke’s third five-star pledge in the class of 2023, joining Sean Stewart and Caleb Foster. The Blue Devils is the only show in the country with more than one 5-star engagement in 2023 at this point in the hiring cycle.

Scheyer and Duke also ranked the top hires for 2022, a team with three five-star recruits and five ESPN 100 leads.