Jared McCain was an unstoppable force in high school — and he proved that against a few Philly-area powers

Long before Jared McCain became the 76ers’ first-round draft pick this summer, he struggled to make a shot through five games as a high school freshman.

So coach Josh Giles, who’s entering his 22nd season at Centennial High School in Corona, Calif., sat down with McCain before their sixth game of the season and told him to pick up a copy of the book The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey.

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“The whole idea of the book is to shut your mind off and let your body do what it already knows how to do,” Giles said. “Jared went out and got the book. I remember when we were going out to Las Vegas to play in a tournament, and before the game, I saw him reading it.”

Funnily enough, the first-round matchup of that 2019 Tarkanian Classic was against Neumann Goretti, which featured Jordan Hall (St. Joseph’s), Hysier Miller (Virginia Tech), and Blaise Vespe (Florida Gulf Coast).

Centennial trailed by 15 points at halftime. But then, something clicked for McCain. The guard unleashed eight three-pointers in the second half to lead all scorers with 29 points, which secured the Huskies’ win over the Saints.

“It was the first time you could see his personality,” Giles said. “He’s making shots. He’s smiling, laughing at the opponent, talking trash, and making plays. That Neumann game is special to me in a lot of ways, because it’s the first time that I was like, ‘Damn, this kid’s going to be really good.’”

It certainly came as a surprise for longtime Saints coach Carl Arrigale. Before that game, he wasn’t paying much attention to the freshman. But it ended up being their only loss in the tournament.

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The Saints staff never forgot about McCain. The coaches followed the progress of his high school career, which saw him win a state title, earn a gold medal with USA Basketball’s U18 team, and become a McDonald’s All American.

“He plays with a lot of confidence. He believes in himself. Sometimes that’s more important than anything,” Arrigale said. “I don’t know him personally, but everything you read and hear says that he’s a hard worker.

“It didn’t shock me when I found out he blossomed into one of the top players in the country after our experience with him when he was probably 14 or 15 years old. He made some big shots in a tight game, in a big-time tournament.”

McCain, 20, grew up in Sacramento, Calif. His family moved to Corona to be closer to Jayce, McCain’s older brother who played Division II basketball at Cal State San Marcos, which is in the northern San Diego area.

As a result, Centennial, well-known in Southern California for its dominant basketball program, landed McCain. When he arrived for offseason workouts, Giles said, McCain would sit next to an assistant coach and ask a “million questions.” That followed into the season.

“My assistant after one of the games was like, ‘Dude, Jared doesn’t shut up,’” he said jokingly. “Right from the very beginning, he carried himself differently than most freshmen.”

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In one year — and with the COVID-19 pandemic interrupting his freshman and sophomore seasons — McCain looked like a different player. He spent five to six hours a day working out, eventually transforming his body by gaining 25 pounds and putting on more muscle.

Even Camden coach Maalik Wayns, who played for Villanova and had a stint with the Sixers, noticed the physical change. Wayns said McCain looked visibly different in the year between his U16 game against Team Final in the Peach Jam tournament and the Panthers’ Hoophall appearance in 2023.

“He was really good at 16 years old,” Wayns said. “Then to see his growth by his senior year and even when I saw him at Duke playing, it was amazing. It was unbelievable.”

When the 6-foot-3 McCain entered his senior year, he was a TikTok-famous Duke recruit. His life was far from normal, but McCain used basketball to stay grounded. He had structure through his daily workouts.

It started with extra work with assistants at 6:30 a.m. before he’d transition into team practice an hour later. Then, after three online classes, McCain completed homework in his car until it was time to drive to another workout with trainers.

“Jared would come back for weights after school — it was like clockwork,” Giles said. “I’m not exaggerating, every single night, he knows the alarm code to my house. Every single night, around 8, 8:30, Jared would come walking into my house. ... He would usually raid my house of food, then he would grab the keys and head over to Centennial to get in more shots.

“He would shoot for another hour, come back to drop off the keys, and go home to bed.”

The matchup between Camden and Centennial in Springfield, Mass., is another one etched in Giles' mind.

Two days before the Huskies competed in Hoophall, a national player ranking dropped. DJ Wagner, now at Arkansas, sat at No. 1 and McCain wasn’t even listed in the top 25.

“I remember I looked at Jared, and was like, ‘Hey, all those dudes that don‘t have you ranked in the top 25, they‘re sitting courtside tonight. What are you going to do about it?’” Giles said. “Jared was always getting questioned — ’You can’t do this. You’re not that; you’re not this’ — and the look he was giving me, I knew he was going off tonight.”

McCain hit six three-pointers in a win over Camden. The stars each finished with 27 points, but McCain was named player of the game.

“I always knew he was a good player, but that game, he really took over,” Wayns said. “He didn’t back away from the challenge. Camden, we’re a pretty tough team, especially with our crowd and fans. He was able to handle it. Once he got drafted by the Sixers, I told some people that I think he’ll fit in well here.”

Giles said McCain always wins. It’s who he is.

He’s had to deal with plenty of criticism, but he tunes out the noise or turns it into positivity, a trait Giles views as a sign that McCain is ready for the NBA.

“Whatever struggles he may have, he’ll figure it out, and he’ll turn those into strengths,” Giles said. “Being on a veteran roster will only help him, because he’ll learn and be able to develop. He always does. ... He will work himself to the point where he needs to be to have success. You just don’t bet against him.”