Duke basketball freshman pushing towards starting spot

Duke basketball freshman Jared McCain is preparing for a major season. 

Typically, the Duke basketball starting lineup is filled with freshmen talent and intrigue on who might start on opening night.

That anticipation on who will start is still present as the Blue Devils prepare to report back to campus this week for the start of the fall semester but it seems like there is only one starting spot to compete for.

The expectation is that returning players Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor, Mark Mitchell, and Kyle Filipowski — all starters last season — will resume their roles in the starting rotation in November but Jon Scheyer must decided on who he wants joining that group.

An obvious choice seems to be 5-star guard Jared McCain, should the Blue Devils want to play a 3-guard lineup to begin the game.

McCain is the most decorated freshman entering Duke after being named as a two-time winning of the California Gatorade Player of the Year and a McDonald’s All-American after his final season at Centennial High School.

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He had a strong offseason with the team as he showcased his athleticism and scoring prowess and that translated over to a pair of camps he attended after the Blue Devils broke workouts for the remainder of the summer.

ESPN’s NBA Draft analyst Jonathan Givony saw Jared McCain at both the CP3 Camp and the Nike Academy and noticed that his game would not only translate to the college game, but eventually the NBA.

“Duke’s Jared McCain was the best player on the floor in both days of the CP3 elite guard camp,” Givony wrote on social media.

“Elite worker, has changed his body, improved his ball-handling and finishing, and plays with tremendous feel and unselfishness. NBA guys are high on him.”

Duke basketball guard looking to live up to the hype

Jared McCain joins fellow 5-star prospects Caleb Foster, Sean Stewart, and TJ Power in Duke’s recruiting class, which is ranked as the consensus No. 2 incoming class in the country.

The 6-foot-5 guard is listed as the highest recruit in the newest crop of Blue Devils at No. 13 in the 247Sports Composite rankings.

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“Duke’s Jared McCain followed up his strong CP3 camp with a productive showing at Nike Academy; passing, defending and demonstrating his scoring instincts and creativity in scrimmages and drills,” Jonathan Givony commented a week later.

Mark Mitchell also attended the Nike Academy and impressed scouts with his tenacious defense and improved offensive game.

Duke will open the season on November 6 against Dartmouth but it’s exhibition game on November 1 against the University of North Carolina at Pembrook might be the biggest clue on who will be in the opening night starting lineup.