Cameron Boozer Could Further No. 1 Case with Deep Duke run

Despite his collegiate dominance, forward Cameron Boozer has been penciled in as the No. 3 pick for many at the 2026 NBA Draft, just behind both AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson.

There’s some merit to that line of thinking. All three prospects are genuinely S-tier, star-level bets at the next level, offering drastically different things. Boozer’s size at around 6-foot-8 or 6-foot-9, mixed with his stiffer athleticism has caused him to lag just behind in talks for the No. 1 pick.

But Boozer’s biggest back-pocket trait has been his simple winning impact, which has so far kept him in the NCAA Tournament — the only one of the three, with Dybantsa and Peteronson having both been eliminated — and it could very well lead him deep into the event as well.

It’s hard to poke holes in Boozer’s production and impact. He’s put together a genuine National Player of the Year campaign at just 18 years old, averaging 22.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 56% overall, 40% from three and 79% from the line.

Even more, Duke has lost just two games all season long, dropping one to Texas Tech back in December, and one to fellow soon-to-be top-draftee Caleb Wilson and North Carolina in early-February.

The Blue Devils’ winning-streak has now extended into March Madness where they placed a close bout versus sixteenth-seeded Siena — winning by just six points — before course correcting for a blowout win over TCU.

Cameron Boozer in his March Madness debut:

22 PTS | 13 REB | 3 AST pic.twitter.com/qtr7qkqVAn
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) March 19, 2026

Boozer hasn’t played up to his standards just yet, though he’s still been massively impactful. Against Sienna he shot just 4-for-11, tacking on five turnovers. The Horned frogs similarly turned him over, though he found his efficiency against with 70% shooting.

Now, Boozer and Duke stare down the barrel of fifth-seeded St. John’s, who just took down Peterson and the Kansas Jayhawks. The Red Storm’s top player in Zuby Ejiofor feels built with withstand a potential Boozer storm, standing at 6-foot-9 with fluid movement and loads of defensive impact.

Boozer's fully under the top-tier microscope as the only player left of the bunch. March Madness doesn't change opinions on a game-to-game basis, but does offer a nice bow on a player's season-long resume. And Boozer succeeding against Ejiofor and punching his squad's ticket to the Elite Eight could certainly change some opinions.

Even more, if Boozer can truly take Duke further than Cooper Flagg did, his impact will be pretty unignorable, athletic concerns aside.

Duke and St. John's will tip off at 6:10 p.m. CT on Friday, March 27.