Duke basketball loses electric freshman guard to NBA Draft

Half of the Duke basketball backcourt has made their decision on what the future holds.

It was made public on Thursday afternoon that Tyrese Proctor will return to the Blue Devils for his junior season and Jared McCain announced on Friday morning that he will be heading to the NBA Draft after one season in Durham.

McCain became an instant fan favorite in his short time at Duke, intercating with many both on and off the court.

When he was on the floor, he was a consistent of a player the Blue Devils had on its roster and as good of a freshman that the program has ever seen, averaging 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 41.4-percent from 3-point range.

He set a Duke freshmen record in the Blue Devils' victory over James Madison in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, hitting eight 3-pointers and scoring 30 points. He would score 32 points in the team's loss to NC State in the Elite 8.

It was a tough decision for McCain whether to leave Duke after one season for the NBA or return for his sophmore season, when you add everything up it made too much sense for him not to chase his dreams this offseason.

NBA teams value shooting and McCain might be the best in this year's draft. It is also considered a very weak draft class while next year's looks very strong, led by Duke signee Cooper Flagg.

Jared McCain is projected as a Top-15 pick this June and the risk of returning to Duke and sliding into the second round next year, even with a strong season, is a strong possibility. It would be too much of a gamble with a guaranteed money a first round draft pick is slotted to make.

Duke will now await the decisions from the other members of the backcourt, senior Jeremy Roach and freshman Caleb Foster, on what their plans will be for next season.