Duke Blue Devils star Jared McCain is offering up his apologies to anyone up in arms over a little bit of nail polish ... saying painting his fingertips is a form of self-care for him -- and he's gonna keep being himself.
Dudes wearing nail polish has always been a pearl-clutching controversy for some reason ... despite big celebs like Harry Styles, Machine Gun Kelly and Heisman winner Caleb Williams famously rocking the look lately.
The freshman guard -- who dropped 30 points in Duke's win over James Madison on Sunday -- has also donned flashy nails on the court throughout his college career .