Published Jun 26, 2024
Jared McCain drafted in first round
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Conor O'Neill  •  DevilsIllustrated
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Jared McCain headed to Philadelphia; Kyle Filipowski goes undrafted

Jared McCain was drafted in the middle of the first round of the NBA draft and will be staying on the east coast.

Duke's only freshman to have entered the draft was picked 16th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

McCain is the 56th first-round pick from Duke in program history.

McCain, who’s from Sacramento, Calif., finished second on the team in scoring, at 14.3 points per game. He led Duke with 87 3-pointers and made 41.4% of his 3s.

This is the fourth straight season that at least one Blue Devil has been drafted in the first round. In the last three drafts, seven Duke players have been picked in the first round. In 13 of the last 14 years, Duke has had a first-round pick (2020, when there were three second-round picks, is the exception).

In a bit of a surprise, Kyle Filipowski was not drafted despite being invited to the draft's green room. He was a projected first-round pick by most mock draft pundits and will likely be picked when the draft resumes, which happens at 4 p.m. Thursday.

Filipowski led Duke in scoring and rebounding each of the last two seasons. He went from averaging 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game as a freshman to 16.4 points and 8.3 rebounds this past season. The 7-footer was the ACC rookie of the year and ACC tournament MVP as a freshman, and was a first-team All-ACC selection this past year.