Duke Recruiting: A Look At Brandon McCoy

Brandon McCoy, a 6-4 guard from California, is widely seen as the #1 point in the class of 2026. You don’t have to watch a lot of video to see that he’s really talented. He’s springy and he shoots well.

Talent is a funny thing. You can find some guys like Steve Kerr or maybe Jose Alvarado who have relatively limited ability but get there anyway. No matter how you cut it though, you have to have talent.

That said, and this is no insult to McCoy or any other gifted young player, but in some ways, having immense talent can be a bit of a handicap for a point guard. Why?

Because you don’t have to learn the game as well early in your career. In high school, a guy like McCoy can overwhelm opponents who simply can’t stop him. That evens out as you move up and by the time you get to the NBA, even the most talented players have to master high-level skills. Look at Stephen Curry. He got to the NBA and was immediately a great player but not necessarily one of the best ballhandlers in the league. Well, he is now. Look at Kobe Bryant. That guy had immense talent but it was a point of pride with him to work harder than anyone on his team.

We love what we see from McCoy in these videos. He’s quick, very bouncy, and he has solid mechanics on his jump shot. He’s obviously not physically mature but he’ll get there.

At this point, he’s not really being pushed as much as we’d like to see though. Point guards in particular have to think the game. We give you another guy to consider: former Michigan State point guard Cassius Winston.

He didn’t stick in the NBA but he had an extraordinary basketball IQ. Michigan State played Duke in 2019. Six players on that Duke team have played in the NBA, including Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Tre Jones.

Winston finished that game with 20 points, 10 assists and four steals and he dominated Jones. Losing to Michigan State stunk, but watching that guy play at such an extraordinary level made it bearable. It was stone cold brilliant. You couldn’t help but admire him.

What we’d like to see from McCoy is him on a court with nine other players who are as gifted as he is and who force him to play at an even higher level. He is already a tremendous talent. What will he do when other kids catch up to him? That’s when we’ll know how good Brandon McCoy is going to be.