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Sixers select Duke's Jared McCain at No. 16 in first round of NBA draft

Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on

Published in Basketball

The 76ers selected Jared McCain with the 16th pick in Wednesday night’s NBA draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. And the 6-foot-3 guard will join the team with high expectations.

“I am visualizing winning rookie of the year,” he said Tuesday at the NBA’s draft availability in New York.

The 20-year-old also correctly visualized himself as a first-round selection following an impressive one-and-done season at Duke.

“I am a big believer in manifesting and meditation and just seeing what you are going to do in the future,” he said. “To be a potential first-round pick, that’s been in my journal for a while.”

Visualizing things has helped the 2023 McDonald’s All American elevate his game.

This past season, he shot 41.4 % on three-pointers as one of the draft’s best off-ball shooters. The California native also averaged 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals this season. He elevated his scoring production in the NCAA, averaging 21 points during Duke’s run to the Elite 8.

 

If there’s a concern, it’s that his athleticism doesn’t jump off the screen. That could prevent him from consistently getting open shots as a catch-and-shoot guy. He’s also prone to taking bad shots.

But getting drafted was his latest visualization that became a reality.

“I am feeling grateful,” he said Tuesday. “I am living my dream right now. I’m trying to take in every moment that I can.”

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©2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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