Don’t let the nail polish and TikTok videos fool you — Sixers’ Jared McCain is a killer on the court don,t,let,the,nail,polish,and,tiktok,videos,fool,you,sixers,jared,mccain,is,a,killer,on,the,court,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-draft,76ers-features-profiles,76ers-draft-rumors-news


Tyrese Maxey might be the most positive person to ever put on a Sixers uniform.

His smile lights up a room. He makes his teammates — and even curmudgeonly reporters — laugh. With the Sixers selecting Duke’s Jared McCain with the 16th overall pick Wednesday night, Maxey might have a little competition in the sunshine and rainbows department.

But just like Maxey, don’t mistake the kindness for weakness. McCain is a stone-cold killer on the court who will bury a three in your face — with a smile on his.

By now you’ve likely seen that McCain paints his fingernails and has a massive TikTok following. While a bunch of old, insecure men clutch their pearls over it, it shows McCain is comfortable in his own skin — a strong statement to make about a 20-year-old.

While McCain enjoys doing things off the court, he is a fierce competitor on it. Watch just about any game he played at Duke last season and you’ll likely see some trash talk and fiery celebrations after a big shot.

“I think it’s a good balance I have,” McCain said Friday at the Sixers’ practice facility. “Being on social media and doing all this stuff outside of basketball, it comes with a lot of hate. And when you get a lot of hate, you kind of want to prove yourself that you can be one of the best players in the world in college.”

And McCain did just that, shining all season long for the Blue Devils, especially in the NCAA Tournament.

One of the elite skills that helped McCain realize his NBA dream is shooting. He knocked down 41.4% of his threes on a healthy 5.8 attempts per game in his lone season with Duke.

As we’ve seen, Daryl Morey is an executive who highly values three-point shooting, especially when building around a player like Joel Embiid.

“He’s already putting up a high volume of threes,” Morey said after the draft Wednesday. “And being able to shoot threes at a high volume and be in the high 30s, low 40s (percentage-wise) is maybe the most valuable skill in the NBA. It’s on the list of the top few, so that’s a big, big part of the calculus with Jared. One hundred percent, absolutely.”

McCain is far from a one-dimensional player though. He’s plenty crafty off the bounce, able to knock down midrange jumpers, floaters, fadeaways and finish with both hands at the rim. He’s a smart offensive player that understands spacing and is a good connective passer. What he lacks in size and athleticism on the defensive end he makes up for with his basketball IQ and desire to win.

He’s made numerous big shots, he’ll dive for loose balls, he’ll get in there and fight for rebounds. Simply put, he’s a winning basketball player.

“Frankly, he sort of checked every box,” Morey said, “that’s why we were so high on him — in that he not only is someone who has a skill and the work ethic to get out there on the floor, and also playing in high-level games … He’s been a top-10, top-15 guy in the country in his class the whole way across. So he’s a combination of a guy we think could get out there a little quicker and, at the same time, a lot of upside given he’s very young and has a great work ethic.”

Every competitive athlete feels like they have something to prove. For McCain, he said he focused on his ability on the ball during the pre-draft process. At 6-foot-2, the ability to operate as a ball handler could be critical to his development. McCain doesn’t have to go far to find an example of a player that’s had success in this area.

Maxey came to the Sixers as an explosive off-ball guard. He thrived in that role next to Ben Simmons and James Harden. After The Beard was dealt to the Clippers, the ball was in Maxey’s hands. He took some lumps along the way, but the increased role led Maxey to his first All-Star appearance and being named the NBA’s Most Improved Player.

After learning so much from guys like Harden and Kyle Lowry, Maxey will become the teacher — and he has a willing pupil in McCain.

“For me, in college I obviously played more of an off-ball role,” McCain said. “So I think being able to learn on-ball stuff from Tyrese and being able to show that I can be on the ball, make reads in pick-and-rolls. … I think the mind is something a lot of people undervalue in the draft — just being able to figure out stuff, the IQ. I think I’m good at that, so I’m going to try to show that as much as I can in my rookie season.”

The moment has never been to big for McCain. He starred at Centennial High School in Corona, California, being named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year as both a junior and senior. He was a McDonald’s All-American and a consensus five-star recruit.

He committed to Duke and had a monster one-and-done season. He was named to the ACC All-Rookie Team and was an All-ACC Honorable Mention. He set a Blue Devil freshman record by hitting eight threes in a game — and he did it twice (one of those times in the NCAA Tournament). His season-high 35 points has only been matched by Zion Williamson in school history for a freshman. He had three 30-point games — including two in the NCAA Tourney — which was most among all Division 1 freshman.

So, do you think McCain is ready for his opportunity in the NBA with the Sixers?

“Since high school, I’ve felt like I’ve always wanted to be on the biggest platforms, be on the biggest stages, and that’s why I chose Duke,” he said. “Now to be in Philly, to have those championship aspirations, I feel like I’m ready for it.

“I’ve always wanted to play in the big games and I feel like when the lights are the brightest, I want to show out and be myself out there on the court. I’m excited. It’s something I’ve looked forward to my entire life and now I’m finally here.”

He’s going to keep painting his nails. He’s going to keep making TikTok videos. He’s going to keep smiling.

But don’t let any of that fool you. Jared McCain wants to hoop.

“Obviously, now being a rookie, I’ve got a lot to prove, so I’m just willing to take on that challenge,” he said. “And once I set a goal, I’m going to put my mind to it and work as hard as I can to keep going. I think that mindset of always wanting to be the best always motivates me.”

Like Maxey before him, he has the chance to make a lot of people look silly for doubting him.

‘Natural killer’ Canino stars for Alas despite different role


Alas Pilipinas’ Angel Canino (12) during the AVC Challenge Cup.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Angel Canino may have played in an unfamiliar position as an opposite spiker in Alas Pilipinas’ historic bronze medal finish in the AVC Challenge Cup but being a “natural killer” made her shine brightly.

“She’s a natural killer,” Alas coach Jorge Souza De Brito told reporters. “You can put her in any position and she will [still] do real damage.”

Playing at the opposite didn’t stop Canino from emerging as Alas’ leading scorer throughout the Challenge Cup and earning herself the Best Opposite Spiker of the tournament to cap the country’s first AVC medal in 63 years.

READ: Angel Canino makes her parents and country proud in Alas Pilipinas debut

De Brito said the key to the former UAAP rookie MVP’s stellar play was her determination to play for the country.

“One of the most important aspects is she’s still young, she still has a long way to go in the UAAP. When I brought her inside I told her, look Angel I will try to put you in the opposite. What do you think? [She answered] No problem coach,” the Brazilian coach said. 

“[She said] no problem to be the opposite, no problem to be there, no problem to be the first six, no problem to be someone who’s gonna help us in the second six. I’m just here to help. What more can you ask for someone who just wants to join the national team.”

“She had some ups and downs but it’s part of the process. But for now, I’m really happy because she’s really enjoying the time there to grow. She always asks for help even from the other players in practice. You can see it in her eyes that she’s willing [to] try,” he added.

READ: Jia De Guzman, Angel Canino cop AVC Challenge Cup awards

The La Salle ace expressed how honored she was to play for the country and realize her family’s dream to don the national colors, armed with the advice of her father and ex-national team player Rodel.

De Brito is grateful to La Salle coach Ramil De Jesus for allowing Canino and other La Salle players Thea Gagate and Julia Coronel to play for Alas as they also saw action in a friendly in South Korea.

“I’m really thankful because La Salle let her come [and her teammates] especially also coach Ramil,” the Alas coach said. “It’s important that we can help each other if there’s something that we can give back to him, of course, it’s this kind of experience she had here, of course, she’ll bring there (La Salle) to share it with other players and their team. Like the NU players did in the past.”

De Brito has more options now in the opposite as Tots Carlos and Alyssa Solomon join the training pool for the FIVB Challenger Cup from July 4 to 7 at Ninoy Aquino Stadium. But it will still depend on their practice, which started on Wednesday.