Duke Blue Devils get verbal engagement from five-star junior guard Jared McCain in the 2023 class

Five-star junior guard Jared McCain announced his commitment to the Duke on Friday to give the Blue Devils his third five-star promise in the 2023 class.

McCain chose the Blue Devils over Gonzaga.

“I wanted to finish it because I knew where I wanted to go,” McCain told ESPN. “As soon as we won the state championship, I was ready. After the visit of [Duke] Campus, it was eye-opening. I attended the Virginia game. The family atmosphere and community is what I was looking for.

McCain becomes the sixth five-star prospect, the Duke has landed since Jon Scheyer was appointed coach following Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement announcement last spring.

“I formed a great relationship with Jon Scheyer and co-workers that was second to none,” McCain said. “He would call me after both wins and losses and offer great advice. Chris Carrawell and Nolan Smith are cool guys and strong communicators. Chris Carrawell was the point person for me. He’s one of my favorite people. He has amazing energy. and talks to me and treats me like his own. He played there and made the Duke feel special. “

And while Krzyzewski will not be part of the program when McCain arrives on campus, McCain has a chance to meet the legendary coach.

“I did not think I would spend much time with him,” he said. “But he took a lot of time for me and my parents. He said how special Duke was and will be in the future.”

McCain, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard from Centennial High School (California), is ranked No. 22 on ESPN 60 for the 2023 class. He averaged 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and shot better than 40% from the 3-point range with the Team Why Not program at the 16U Nike EYBL circuit last summer.

He is expected to play both at and on the ball for the Duke. In the transition game, McCain can run on the bow and shoot it with consistency. He is effective at playing on the ball screen, but can also set up and shoot the penetration of a teammate. He has a fast and precise shot. McCain is able to use the dribble to create space and score, and is one of the best shooters in the 2023 class.

McCain, a social media sensation with more than a million TikTok followers, is Duke’s third five-star engagement in the 2023 class, with Sean Stewart and Caleb Foster. The Blue Devils are the only program in the country with more than a five-star 2023 commitment at this point in the recruitment cycle.

Scheyer and the Duke also come from the top-ranked recruiting class of 2022, a group that has three five-star recruits and five ESPN 100 prospects.