DALLAS — The first time Duke guard Jared McCain showed up at a basketball tournament with his fingernails painted — lavender was the original color he says with a laugh — he heard all the ugly comments one might expect.

“When I first did it at 16-and-under Peach Jam, a lot of people called me ‘TikTok,’” McCain said. “I didn’t really understand how that would affect me, but yeah, people just call me TikTok or gay or whatever they want to call me. It doesn’t really matter.”

McCain, the only freshman in Duke’s starting lineup, is a phenomenal basketball talent — a five-star prospect who could have chosen any school in the country. He’s a likely lottery pick in the NBA draft, whether it’s this year or next. He’s a huge reason the Blue Devils are one game away from the Final Four, averaging nearly 14 points per game and shooting 43 percent from the 3-point line this season.

He’s also unapologetically himself.

“Jared is one of one,” sophomore Kyle Filipowski said.

And he’s unique in ways he knows make some people uncomfortable, particularly the sector of society that has more rigid and perhaps outdated views of what masculinity looks like or how a star athlete is supposed to present himself in public.

In a TikTok video he posted earlier this week where he's in the middle of painting his nails blue and white — it’s actually a clever ad for Sally Hansen nail polish — McCain looks at the camera with a sly smile and says: “Sorry if that offends you guys.”

“Perfect deal for me,” said McCain, who has scored several name, image and likeness sponsorships with companies like Celsius, American Eagle, Skims, Downy and Crocs.

McCain obviously isn’t shy — one look at his TikTok page reveals a young man very comfortable with showing off his dance moves to 2.6 million followers — but he’s also self-aware.

He knows these things are going to attract attention. He knows that negative comments are going to be part of the deal. He’s also supremely confident in who he is and his ability to straddle a line between individualism and fitting in with a basketball team.

“Especially coming into a new situation like Duke, all these players were five-stars in high school so for me to come in, I just wanted to lead with my work,” he said. “All the other stuff is a side gig. The TikToks and everything is completely separate from how I am on the court. I just  wanted to let (my teammates) know from the jump that I’m not like doing TikToks all day and painting my nails. That’s complete side stuff.”

And the idea that it’s somehow a problem for Duke? Totally the opposite.

McCain’s gregariousness off the court and ability to smile his way through every situation has been valuable for a Duke team that has been under the microscope for the last two years under 36-year old coach Jon Scheyer.

“I think his energy and confidence spreads throughout the team, through practice, through games,” guard Tyrese Proctor said. “He puts so much work in. It reflects on court with his performances and we all have so much confidence in him. He has so much confidence in himself in terms of personality and stuff. I feel like his energy all round campus, it just brings all of us up.”

McCain says he doesn’t read the comments on his posts — especially on X, formerly known as Twitter. That’s probably a good thing, given the way social media reacted to the video of former USC quarterback Caleb Williams sitting at a women’s basketball game last week with his painted fingernails and pink phone case.

In Williams’ case, it spawned all kinds of ridiculous questions about his ability to lead an NFL franchise as the No. 1 draft pick -- as if these kinds of superficial things matter at all. This is a different generation, and many fans’ tolerance of different behaviors is lagging behind these athletes’ peers.

“He’s a joy to be around,” Duke senior Jeremy Roach said.

And on the court, McCain has come into his own during this NCAA Tournament. In the round of 32 against James Madison, he made 8-of-11 threes. Against Houston on Friday, he played all 40 minutes and held up well against the relentless defensive pressure of the Cougars’ older guards. Though he scored seven points on 3-of-6 shooting, it was a performance that likely helped his draft stock. If someone can’t see or acknowledge that because of painted fingernails, that’s their problem.

“My parents raised me to always be myself in any situation,” McCain said. “So when I started doing stuff that was maybe a little out of the ordinary, outside the box, they just told me to continue to be yourself. Even if they didn't agree with it, even if it was something they weren’t used to especially in their generation, they've always supported me for everything I do.

So i'm just gonna continue to be myself. It’s gotten me where I’m at today so there’s no reason why it would stop for a random person online telling me I’m bad at basketball because I paint my nails.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jared McCain leading Duke in March Madness amid nails, TikTok critiques