The youngest Duke basketball sharpshooter empties his first NBA buckets

During the Philadelphia 76ers’ penultimate preseason game on Oct. 16, their rookie No. 16 draft pick, Duke basketball one-and-done Jared McCain, fell heavily on his back after attempting to rebound his missed layup in traffic. And there were worrying minutes as the 20-year-old guard from California lay on the court struggling to catch his breath.

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The 20-year-old guard from California was taken to the hospital, where he passed concussion protocols but learned he had suffered a pulmonary contusion (a bruise to the lung).

Still, just a week later, McCain was ready to get going on Wednesday night, coinciding with the 76ers’ season opener at home against the Milwaukee Bucks. So his injury meant just one absence, and that was for the team’s preseason finale on Friday evening.

Although McCain was only on the bench for four minutes at the end of the Sixers’ 124-109 loss to the Bucks, that was enough for him to score his first league regular-season points:

Jared McCain finished with four points and two rebounds, shooting 2-for-3 from the field, with his only miss coming from beyond the arc.

As for Milwaukee’s only Duke basketball talent, 2017-18 Blue Devil guard Gary Trent Jr. earned a starting role alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. and totaled 11 points and two goals in his 35 minutes of action.

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