There will be just one Boozer brother in the upcoming NBA Draft. On Thursday, Duke announced that Cayden Boozer will return to the school next season.
It’s a significant development for coach Jon Scheyer, as it ensures Duke will have a proven, experienced ball-handler to drive the team and organize the offense. As a true freshman, Boozer averaged 22.8 minutes per game while appearing in all 38 contests.
Boozer made 11 starts, including in all 7 of Duke’s postseason games. He played 40 minutes in the ACC Championship Game win over Virginia, scoring 16 points to go with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal.
For the season, Boozer averaged 7.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists a game while shooting 50% from the floor and 30.3% from 3. His final 7-game stretch to close out the season will be the run of games that Duke fans point to as the source of optimism for Boozer’s sophomore campaign. Over Duke’s final 7 games, Boozer averaged 13.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 32.1 minutes while maintaining a strong clip from the field (50%) and a decent rate from 3-point range (33.3%).
Boozer will need to improve as a shooter in Year 2. He’ll also look to make amends for the turnover that led to UConn’s game-winning 3 in the Elite Eight. But Scheyer’s team looks like a better one with the version of Boozer that Duke got in the postseason. And retaining your best players is always a more preferable path to replacing them.
Boozer’s brother, Cameron, is likely to be a top-5 pick in the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft. Fans can trade on that likelihood with Kalshi.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
