$1.1 million NIL-valued Jared McCain gets emotional, days after announcing NBA Draft decision on IG: "Gonna miss my brothers"

Duke's boisterous star Jared McCain declared for the 2024 NBA draft on Friday after a stirring freshman season for the Blue Devils, where he led them to the Elite Eight of the Big Dance.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the $1.1 million NIL-valued Duke star (as per On3) got emotional, stating how he was going to miss his Duke teammates. He captioned the post:

"Gonna miss my brothers ❤️."

During the announcement of his departure from Duke for the NBA, Jared McCain highlighted the friendship bonds he forged as one of the aspects that he would miss most about college basketball.

"Even only being here for one year, I got to see the impact and the power of The Brotherhood, and that’s what made this decision extremely hard," McCain said. "But I’ve always been a dream chaser, I’ve always been one to reach my goals, and that next one is the NBA. So with that being said, I will be entering my name into the 2024 NBA Draft. I’m blessed and honored to be a part of The Brotherhood, and I’ll be a Blue Devil for life."

Jared McCain and the NBA Draft

The 2024 NBA draft class has been ridiculed in several quarters, by fans and analysts about its relative weakness, but some of the prospects who have declared for the draft, including Jared McCain, have had stellar seasons.

He was the Blue Devils' top-ranked prospect in the class of 2023 and started 36 games after a slow start to the season.

McCain averaged 14.3 points on 46.2% shooting from the floor and 41.4% shooting from beyond the arc, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists this season, while he was explosive during the 2024 NCAA Tournament, averaging 21.0 points.

He was recently named to the ACC All-Rookie Team, and he justified the decision with his ferocious tenacity around the basket. In 19 of the 36 games that he played, he registered five or more rebounds despite being just 6-foot-3.

McCain had several impressive games for the Blue Devils, most notably when he tied Zion Williamson's freshman scoring record with 35 points against Florida State, where he scored 8 of 11 3-pointers.

His most recent iconic game came against the James Madison Dukes, where he scored 30 points and shot 72.7% from beyond the arc.

According to Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman, Jared McCain will be picked at No. 12 by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 draft.

"He's become one of the draft's most convincing shotmakers, and though his size and athletic limitations do raise questions, he's shown plenty of ways to compensate with his crafty ball-handling and pace, shooting versatility, touch shots in the lane and finishing adjustments," Wasserman wrote.

Jared McCain is one of the best shooters from beyond the arc in the 2024 NBA draft class, a factor that should outweigh any physical limitations that might plague the minds of NBA executives.