By now, you’ve probably seen the social media post. The Duke Blue Devils torched Notre Dame 100-56 on Tuesday night, but the story was about Cameron Boozer’s stat line at halftime: 20 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Notre Dame’s team stats at halftime: 22 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
Cameron Boozer's stat line in the first half is almost the same as the entire Notre Dame team 😮 pic.twitter.com/0dknhR88yf
— ESPN (@espn) February 25, 2026
Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa have had a tendency to dominate NBA Draft talk, and understandably so; Peterson's will-he-won't-he dance (and incredible scoring eruptions) at Kansas has been one of the strangest sports stories in recent memory, while Dybantsa's physical tools leap off the screen. It's easy to get a little bored with Boozer by comparison.
But all he's done so far at the college level is, well, be the best player in the country on both ends of the floor. And while it might not be flashy enough to make him a draftnik darling, he's now in position to do what even generational Duke prospects before him — Cooper Flagg and Zion Williamson — couldn't.
Why Cameron Boozer can lead Duke to its first national championship since 2015
Boozer is averaging a double-double this season (22.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game) for the Blue Devils. He’s one of 14 players to average a double-double in Division I and one of only two players to do so with at least 20 points per game. As the kids would say, Boozer is a bucket. Flagg and Williamson were both players that knew how to get themselves a score.
It’s the mark of a star, and why Boozer has the edge. Flagg and Williamson were explosive players who could score from anywhere on the floor. Boozer isn’t as flashy, but can get to the basket while playing as a back-to-the-basket forward. Being able to collect offensive rebounds and extend offensive possessions is a trait that can’t get overlooked when evaluating Boozer either.
This year’s Duke team isn’t as talented as last year’s team, strictly speaking, but Boozer is truly the X-factor. Flagg was the star player, but even doing everything he could, he came up short. What does Boozer have that Flagg doesn’t? In my opinion, he impacts the game just a little bit more inside. Boozer has just five games shooting below 50 percent. On the contrary, he has 11 games shooting at least 60 percent from the field.
Duke has all it needs to go on a tournament run this season
The Blue Devils passed perhaps their toughest test in taking down the Michigan Wolverines last weekend. Michigan was the No.1 team in the country going into that game and the Blue Devils did essentially what no other team could do, which was to frustrate their half court offense.
Even in Michigan’s first loss of the season, the Wolverines kept pace with Wisconsin’s scoring. But Dusty May's team were held to just 58 points in the loss to Duke. The fact that the Blue Devils were able to contain Michigan that way, to me, shows they’re one of the most dangerous teams in the country. I think when it comes to consistency, if Michigan was the best and Duke beat the best, the Blue Devils now take the top spot.
The other thing the Blue Devils have over Michigan is someone to go to when they need a basket. Boozer has been one of the most efficient scorers in college basketball this year. That’s an invaluable asset. I hate to say it, but Duke just might be back. Flagg tried to bring the Blue Devils back to the top of the college basketball mountain and they came up short. Boozer is talented enough to finish the job this year.