'I meditate every single day': Inside Jared McCain's rigorous physical and mental discipline

"Just Wanna Rock,” by Lil Uzi Vert plays as the Cameron Crazies roar to their feet in anticipation at Countdown to Craziness.

Head coach Jon Scheyer knowingly grins and shakes his head in the back as the rest of the team watches in admiration. TikTok sensation and freshman guard Jared McCain does what he does best: Bring joy to a crowd with dancing. 

McCain has won the hearts of college basketball fans with his cheerful smile and outgoing personality. His game isn’t too shabby either. With a consistent jump shot and unselfish playmaking ability, the Sacramento, Calif., native was the 11th-ranked prospect in the class of 2023 — the highest recruit in this year’s Duke class. 

Five-star basketball recruit. Two million TikTok followers. 

But there’s another side to the story. McCain is extremely extroverted — unorthodox for a player of his caliber — and this has generated plenty of hate on social media. From those who ridicule his decision to paint his nails or accuse him of spending too much time on TikTok, there is no shortage of McCain critics. 

“There’s definitely some times during the season where I’m like ‘Why? Why am I getting hated on?’ All I’m doing is dancing and smiling and just trying to spread some positivity,” McCain said at the team’s preseason media day. “But it’s just them projecting their insecurities, they want what you have … I’m just being me, so I can’t listen to that.”

Because of their historical success, McCain was prepared for more resentment after his commitment to the Blue Devils.

“I kind of knew coming into it that especially at Duke, which is one of the most hated [programs], that you’re gonna get hated on,” he said. 

In conjunction with his daily yoga and meditation, Southern California-based basketball trainer Shea Frazee has been instrumental in McCain’s development as a player, both physically and mentally. Frazee has trained McCain since eighth grade, when he had plenty of time for daily training.

“If you’re not in the right place mentally, if you don’t have the right kind of focus, you’re going to learn slower,” Frazee told The Chronicle. “Because you’re going to be having this internal battle in your head and a lot of times that turns into an internal battle within your body for who’s in control.”

This mental battlefield is a serious detriment to many physically gifted athletes, and meditation is not a gimmick. McCain’s discipline for waking up at 5:30 every morning to do yoga is unwavering, a product of the mental strength that comes with meditation.

It’s one thing to block out the noise when other people are screaming and yelling. But what about when it is just you, alone with your own thoughts and inner voice, with no escape but the sound of your breath? That’s the power of meditation, focusing solely on inhaling and exhaling for an extended period of time. In addition to silencing the doubters in his mind, meditation plays a powerful role in relaxing McCain before he takes the court. 

“I know what I’m capable of,” McCain said at media day. “After having a bad game, I know how to be centered with myself and find my breath.”

The mind is a muscle, and just like the physical toll of basketball, meditation is one of the strongest forms of training. One of the biggest keys to McCain’s mental growth, according to Frazee, was Timothy Gallwey’s “The Inner Game of Tennis,” where Gallwey illustrates how self-doubt and mental weakness can affect sports performance and limit life success. 

Frazee’s father introduced him to “The Inner Game of Tennis,” and Frazee tries to read it multiple times a year. During their training sessions, he discussed this with McCain, who has fully bought into introspection.  

“I read [“The Inner Game of Tennis”] before every game,” McCain said in a TikTok. “That probably built my confidence the most.”

“[Gallwey] did a really good job of taking the understanding of Buddhism and Hinduism, and then importing them into how to practice tennis or sports or anything that is physical and skill-based,” Frazee said. 

Yoga and meditation, rooted in ancient Hindu tradition, have quickly grown to worldwide phenomena due to their numerous benefits. However, it hasn’t fully taken the high school and collegiate athletic world by storm. Nevertheless, McCain’s open-mindedness to try something new is unique, and reflects his greater humility. 

“He’s not gonna leave any stone unturned,” Frazee said. “He’s gonna do all the aspects of preparation and he’s about as good as I’ve seen. So it’s always impressive and a lot of times inspiring to watch him go about his business in that way.”

It’s a secret superpower, one that helps McCain elevate himself above the competition and stand out amongst the elite physical specimens of college basketball. At 6-foot-3, McCain isn’t undersized by any stretch, but is still one of the smaller guards at the collegiate level. With his superpower, however, he can play like he’s taller than that.

“For better or worse, everybody’s really, really, really good and the margin for somebody in [McCain’s] position to be better than other people comes down to a combination of overwhelming physical gifts or the mental side of the game,” Frazee said. 

Before Countdown to Craziness in October, his first chance to show both his basketball and dancing skills on a live stage to the Cameron Crazies, McCain remembered his breath.

“Meditation always calms me down,” McCain said after Countdown. “I knew [Countdown] was gonna be hectic out there, so just always being able to come back to my breath is huge.”

‘I can touch people’s souls in different ways’

His smile is infectious and so is his mindfulness practice. The so-called “Freshman Four” — McCain, Caleb Foster, TJ Power and Sean Stewart — have filled the @DukeMBB Instagram page with pictures of them in yoga poses. McCain and Foster are also in a yoga class together.

The Californian is an inspiration for many, and has a celebrity aura about himself that even transcends the fame of a Duke basketball player. 

“[Students] usually ask us to take pictures of Jared,” Power said jokingly on “The Brotherhood Podcast.” 

McCain has an enormous following, inspiring kids across the country. Graduate student Ryan Young mentioned that McCain stood out on the team’s summer bonding trip to Chicago and everyone wanted to meet him. 

“It feels really good, I can touch people’s souls in different ways,” McCain said about his ability to influence others. 

It would be easy to become conceited, and let this fame get to his head. But McCain maintains his down-to-earth, genuine personality, no matter what. Whether it be preparing a routine to show off on TikTok, or playing basketball in front of a packed house, he has a constant joy about him. 

“I think he really enjoys preparing and executing a plan to entertain people, whether it’s understanding all the little nooks and crannies of [basketball] or if it’s choreographing an entire routine,” Frazee said.  

‘I knew I was gonna be in this position’

McCain once asked Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry how he handles slumps and Curry answered, “trust your work.” 

Many college newcomers face the “freshman wall,” a combination of physical and mental fatigue with the rigorous demands of college athletics. But McCain’s full-body preparation style is perfect for this, with his work ethic showing a love for not only the game but also the process. 

“I’ve always loved getting up early, I watched those videos of CEOs who wake up early and get the work in,” McCain said at media day. “I like the pressure of knowing I’ve got to perform right now. I trust my work.”

His openness to trying meditation and his joy in whatever he does translates to the court, as he strives to become the best player he can be by learning about every skill in the game. 

“He really enjoys just being good at any part of basketball, it doesn’t matter,” Frazee said. 

“Because of that, you’re teaching him stuff you would teach a five-man or a post player. He’ll just enjoy it, and he’ll do it at the highest possible level he can do it at.” 

However, there is also a mental impact to preparation, knowing that you have the ability to play with the best in the country. McCain has made dream boards outlining his goals since middle school, validating that his basketball career is deliberately planned.  

“I feel like I’ve manifested this,” McCain said at media day. “I’m a huge believer in visualizations and just the law of attraction, so I did know I was gonna be here. I knew I was gonna be in this position.” 

The law of attraction is the idea that positive thoughts bring positive results into someone’s life. McCain is the walking embodiment of positivity. He is “unapologetically himself” according to head coach Jon Scheyer and he perfectly walks the tightrope between confidence and humility. 

When asked what he would tell his earlier self, McCain responded, “Be prepared for the hate, be prepared for people just being flat out mean. Always be yourself, no matter what situation you’re in, always be yourself.”

“It’s a balanced confidence, whereas it’s rooted into a lot of self awareness and understanding who he is as a player and who he is as a person,” Frazee said. 

One of his goals from his middle school vision board was to get an offer from Duke, and he has gotten that and more. So far, he’s achieved everything he has manifested on these boards up to this point. But he’s in the process of creating a board right now, with an unmet goal at the center:

An NCAA championship.

Editor's note: this piece is one of many in The Chronicle's 2023-24 Duke men's basketball preview. Check out the rest here.

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