DURHAM, N.C. — The video lasts 11 seconds.
And all things considered? It’s … pretty ordinary. Just two high school kids, in mismatched sweat suits, trying to synchronize some basic choreography to a snippet of TisaKorean’s “Aero (Blow the Whistle).” It’s not bad, per se; just not mind-blowing.
So, an average TikTok video.
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But almost four years and 44,000 views later, that video is so much more than average — mostly because of what came after it. Jared McCain never could’ve known so at the time, back when he was a high school freshman, but that TikTok post — his first one — set him on the path to becoming a social media sensation.
Today, the Duke freshman guard is a legitimate TikTok star, as evidenced by his 2 million followers and the 113.4 million likes his videos have generated. By comparison, USC freshman Bronny James has 5.8 million TikTok followers, while North Carolina star big man Armando Bacot has just over 40,000. (A TikTok from the McDonald’s All-American game featuring both James and McCain dancing at midcourt has attracted 12.6 million views to date). McCain’s most-viewed clip is from March 17, 2022 — one day before he committed to the Blue Devils — in which he and his mom, Jina, dance to Willow Smith’s “Wait a Minute.” That has over 19 million views.
@jaredmccain24 I commit tomorrow to a school 😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏 @overtimefits ♬ original sound – Niana Guerrero
McCain regularly hits seven figures these days. Just last week, a video of him pouring syrup on pancakes garnered 21,800 thousand views … in the first half hour after it was uploaded.
“Ay, if any of you guys need help,” McCain told reporters last month, “I got you. Especially with dancing.”
McCain first decided to post on the platform around the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — “when I knew I couldn’t be made fun of at school,” he jokes. The Sacramento, Calif., native always loved dancing growing up, and after watching certain routines rise to social media popularity, figured he’d give them a try. “I was like, I can do exactly what they’re doing,” he says, “(people) with these big followings.” So, he did. And while McCain didn’t blow up immediately — it took about seven months of activity, until his 54th post, to crack a million viewers — he steadily grew his audience over that time.
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Yet for as famous as McCain is on the internet, he’s arguably more well-known in hoops circles; the 6-3 combo guard was a five-star, top-15 national recruit in this year’s class. But even during the recruiting process, there was no fully separating McCain the player from McCain the personality. Duke coach Jon Scheyer broke one of his personal rules — not to promise recruits anything — while courting McCain: If McCain committed to the Blue Devils, Scheyer promised to appear in a TikTok with him. (We’re still waiting for that commitment to be honored, Coach.)
“I’m not on TikTok,” Scheyer says. “I get videos sent to me, though, so I know what he’s putting out there.”
That McCain has a burgeoning personal brand outside of basketball is no surprise; most modern-day athletes do, to some extent, whether they use social media more as an outlet or an amplifier. But where the 19-year-old differs is that his TikTok fame came first, before he was a household basketball name. McCain’s social media started to truly “pop off,” in his words, when he led his Team WhyNot grassroots squad to the U16 Peach Jam title in 2021. (McCain had 23 points in the championship game, earning MVP honors.) “It was like a perfect connection,” he says, “to mix the dancing with what I love: basketball.” Ever since then, his follower count’s been on a seemingly limitless ascent.
Which is why, at least in theory — or in an alternate world where NBA executives aren’t drooling over McCain’s potential — his TikTok account could become his business. While the platform’s payout rates are constantly changing, McCain easily clears the number of followers required to be considered a top-tier creator; that’s without mentioning the partnership deals — like the ones McCain has with Panera Bread and Champs Sports, for example — that naturally emerge with that large an audience.
And yet, for as prevalent as McCain’s social presence is, it’s not his top priority.
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Nor should it be, given the basketball opportunity in front of him.
Duke, which is ranked No. 2 in the preseason AP Top 25, returns four starters from last season’s ACC championship team, so the natural question all summer has been: Who joins them as the fifth? Each of the Blue Devils’ talented freshmen — who, combined, were rated as the second-best class nationally, per the 247Sports Composite — has flashed at times since getting on campus. But according to people close to the program, McCain has unequivocally been the most consistent, the most potent. It helps that what he’s best at, shooting, is exactly what Duke needed to add most; last season, Scheyer’s first as head coach, the Blue Devils made just 33.5 percent of their 3s, “good” for 198th in the country, per KenPom. That’s where McCain comes in. “He’s a sniper,” fellow freshman Caleb Foster says. “If you leave him open, he’s hitting it for sure.”
@jaredmccain24GOOO DUKE😅♬ Shake It – Metro Station
But it isn’t just McCain’s skill set that’s impressed thus far; it’s also his work ethic and attitude. On a recent podcast, Duke’s captains — Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor, and Ryan Young — mentioned that they thought McCain might earn some votes for captain … despite never having played a college game. Even amidst summer appearances at the Nike Academy and Chris Paul’s elite camp — where McCain was competing against the best college and high school players in the country — his consistency has impressed both his teammates and coaches.
“He’s got this live personality off the court — (but) when he gets on the court, it’s like a switch,” Scheyer says. “Like, he steps over that line, and he’s as good of a competitor as there is. He’s cutthroat, he’s intense. He always has energy. He’s always talking. He’s incredibly refreshing to coach.”
It’s an interesting duality — but McCain doesn’t expect his two worlds to stay separate for long. He knew coming into college that people love hating Duke, and he’s already experienced that on Tobacco Road. McCain recently Ubered to a Target in neighboring Chapel Hill to buy toiletries and was booed upon entering. As Duke’s season unfolds, and opposing fan bases become aware of his TikTok following, he anticipates basketball hate bleeding over into his social media. “People will definitely be in the comments saying some stuff,” he says. “But I’m just being me, so I can’t listen to other people’s opinions.”
Saying that months before it comes to fruition is one thing. Embodying it once the season starts is another entirely. McCain has, unfortunately, already been privy to some social media hate in the past — especially as his basketball reputation kept growing — but starting for a program like Duke easily could take that animosity to a new level. McCain even had to tell his family and friends not to respond to social media comments, despite their best intent, so as not to feed the trolls.
“There were definitely some times during the season where I was like, why? Why am I getting hated on? All I’m doing is dancing and smiling, just trying to spread some positivity — but they’ll find a way to hate,” McCain says. “You’ve got to realize that it’s just them projecting their insecurities, and them wanting what you have. But it’s been a humbling experience trying to be humble and stay humble, and not respond.”
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So, has he managed to do that? By leaning back into his whimsical love for dancing, and for creating — and by now incorporating his Duke teammates into the fun. “He’s trying,” Foster says, laughing, “to get me right on TikTok.” (Confirmation: Seven of Foster’s eight posts have come since July.) In his first few months at Duke, more than half of McCain’s teammates have appeared in his videos, everywhere from the locker room to the legendary Cameron Indoor Stadium court. “I like dancing,” fellow freshman Sean Stewart says, “so it’s fun being in some TikToks.” It might take longer for McCain to convince the team’s fourth freshman, T.J. Power, to get a TikTok — he didn’t even have an Instagram account until recent peer pressure persuaded him — but even Power has made some guest appearances.
@jaredmccain24Poster shoot 😀😀😀♬ original sound – BT
And don’t forget that Scheyer’s still on deck for his cameo.
McCain’s TikTok proclivity has, in many ways, become “a thing” around Duke’s program. (For the record, McCain has more than double the followers Duke’s official account has, and more than five times the likes.) And while the dark downsides of social media are certainly on McCain’s radar, after almost four years on TikTok, he’s learned better than most how to manage his account — and what it means to him. “I like having those almost separate personalities,” McCain says, “where I know I can lock in on the court, but also have fun off (it).”
Next comes the interesting part, the unknown: Where McCain’s account turns once Duke’s season gets underway.
Maybe if Duke struggles out of the gate — two of its first three opponents are ranked — then McCain’s TikTok presence will quiet down, go dark, take a brief reprieve. Or maybe the haters get so loud, so aggressive, that it’s better to log off for a little.
But knowing McCain, that’s unlikely. Just take it from his head coach:
“He’s unapologetically himself all the time,” Scheyer says, “which I love about him — and he’s so secure in who he is as a person and as a player.”
(Photo of Jared McCain at the McDonald’s All-American Game in March: Alex Bierens de Haan / Getty Images)