Cayden Boozer Deserves Admiration for Owning Costly Turnover in Duke's Meltdown

The worst moment of Cayden Boozer’s basketball life came on a stage in which millions watched, wondered, and were amazed.

His attempted pass down court with 4.6 seconds left in the Elite 8 with Duke leading UConn by two, 72-70, was tipped, stolen, and lead to a 3-pointer from Braylon Mullins at sent the Huskies to its third Final Four in the last four seasons.

For Boozer, the idea was there. If his pass was able to get over Mullins and Silas Demary Jr., Duke wins. Patrick Ngongba and Isaiah Evans were by themselves on the other end of the court and either player could have ran out the remaining time or converted a layup to make the Blue Devil lead two possessions.

Instead, the entire sports world had an opinion his mistake and reluctance to hold the ball and get fouled.

But Boozer showed a maturity beyond his years when he got back to the locker room. He sat at his locker and answered questions from the media that he didn’t have to.

He took ownership for the turnover and didn’t look to make excuses.

"I saw Dame [Sarr] get trapped, I went to the outlet, obviously I saw two people down there, Isaiah [Evans] and Pat [Ngongba], just tried to get them the ball since Isaiah's our best free throw shooter,” he told reporters in the locker room.

“I could've been stronger with the ball, and I let our team down.”

It also likely marked the last time that he will be able to play with his brother, Cameron, who is a projected Top 3 pick in June’s NBA Draft while most people expect Cayden to return to college for his sophomore season.

“I just feel like I let him down,” Cayden Boozer said about playing with his brother.

Boozer was terrific in the first half, scoring 13 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line with three rebounds and two assists. He only scored two points, both from the free throw line in the second half, after only attempting one shot from the field and despite the four assists he committed four turnovers.

“This is not about one play,” Jon Scheyer said after the loss. “It's about every play that put us in that position, and that's what you don't want to do, where one play something could happen.”

It’ll take a long time for Duke to get over this loss, but Cayden Boozer showed tremendous poise, leadership, and accountability that most NBA players don’t even show when put in a moment like that.

If he returns to the Blue Devils for his sophomore season, he’s already shown the necessary skillset to be a captain.