Jaron McKie is building a name in Philly — and adding to the reputation of his famous family
Jaron McKie is creating a lane for himself on the basketball scene in Philly, but he still follows the teachings of his father, Aaron McKie.
Aaron McKie is a regular at St. Joseph’s Prep basketball games. He parks in the corner of the track circling above the court and sits alone in a chair too small for his 6-foot-5 frame.
He pays the $5 entry fee like all the other parents to see his son, Jaron, play.
Jaron turned some heads in the Philadelphia Catholic League as a freshman. He coupled natural instincts for the game with the information provided by the Hawks coaching staff and his father, a former NBA player and current Temple coach.
“I enjoy watching him play,” Aaron said. “I put the basketball in his hands. I remember being in the basement playing with a little basketball whenever I would come home. He wanted to play all day.”
Basketball has become a family affair in the McKie household, with Aaron, Jaron, and twin boys, Julian and Justin, who are in sixth grade.
During quarantine in 2020, the four played full-court and two-on-two games at their house in Gladwyne, with Jaron and Julian against Aaron and Justin.
“Sometimes we would win, sometimes they would win,” Jaron said. “But it was intense, like I didn’t want to lose.”
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Jaron went after his father, who responded with a foul or trash talk. The two attacked each other and traded buckets. It got so competitive at times that they wouldn’t talk to each other the rest of the day.
Aaron said his eldest son, who is now 6-foot-2, wasn’t as strong or as fast at that point. His game plan has since evolved into trying to talk Jaron out of his game.
Those quarantine games came while Jaron was attending Waldron Mercy Academy, a middle school near his home. He has since enrolled at St. Joe’s Prep, which is down the street from Temple’s campus, following his childhood friend and AAU teammate, Jordan Ellerbee (no known relation to Aaron’s Simon Gratz coach, Bill Ellerbee).
Through 21 games, 19 of which he started, Jaron averaged 11.3 points per game and shot46.9% from the field in a team-high 26.5 minutes per game. He also knocked down 37 three-pointers on the season, shooting at 45.7%.
Those numbers don’t mean much to Jaron, who doesn’t pay much attention to stats or outside pressures that come with being Aaron’s son, according to Prep coach Jason Harrigan.
Jaron isn’t particularly vocal, a trait his coaches want him to develop. He’s a reserved 15-year-old who just wants to play winning basketball.
“He’s one of the most efficient players in the league despite everybody around the league [keying in on him],” Harrigan said. “He puts a lot of time in his preparation and his father helps prepare him for these types of moments.”
Jaron graduated from shooting on that mini-hoop in the basement to taking frequent trips into Philadelphia with his father and working on his game at Temple’s McGonigle Hall.
The same building that once squeezed thousands of impassioned fans to see Aaron help lead the Owls to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances was quiet in those moments, with just two generations of McKies working on dribble-drive moves, floaters, and jump shots.
A Thursday matinee against Lincoln High School on Dec. 30 proved to be the younger McKie’s coming-out party. He displayed a willingness to score that is uncommon for a freshman guard in the PCL.
Jaron amassed a career-high 27 points. And he buried a go-ahead bucket in the final 90 seconds. St. Joe’s Prep closed out the game on free throws and won, 67-66.
“It felt good,” Jaron said after a pause. “Especially since we got the win. And I kind of showed it in my dad’s face a little bit. … He said he was proud of me.”
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Aaron hasn’t become the type to overstep, even as a dad with a high knowledge of the game. He speaks to Harrigan about once a week — part of that discourse includes Jaron’s development.
Harrigan said he appreciates Aaron’s eagerness to reiterate teachings from the Hawks coaches. Sometimes it’s about asking Jaron to use his voice more. Other times it’s more X’s and O’s, like getting extra work in pick-and-roll situations.
“I try not to coach him. I try to be more of a father,” Aaron said. “I just try to teach him more about the mental aspects of the game and doing the little things. I think it’s important. I think it’s a lost art that we don’t teach anymore.”
Jaron’s long-term goal? Following in his father’s footsteps with his eyes set on one day making it to the NBA.