NBA Draft: Cameron Boozer Showed Value in Slow Duke Debut

Duke forward Cameron Boozer’s debut wasn’t perfect, but it showcased his value.

Nov 4, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) battles for position against Texas Longhorns forward Nic Codie (10) during the first quarter at the Dick Vitale’s Invitational game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

After watching from the sidelines in college basketball’s opening day Monday, the Duke Blue Devils finally got to open up their 2025-26 season on Tuesday.

While plenty of teams faced off against lesser non-conference opponents to open up the season, Duke started with a tough test in Texas, who should be a middling SEC team.

The most notable storyline of the night was the debut of Cameron Boozer, who’s set to be the next in line of Blue Devils’ taken within the upper ranks of the NBA Draft. The son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, he was a consensus top-three recruit in the class, and is projected to be the very same at next year’s NBA Draft per most experts.

Even more, Boozer dominated in both of the Blue Devils’ exhibitions, going for 33 points, 12 rebounds and four assists versus UCF, and 24 points and 23 rebounds against Tennessee.

Despite all of that, Boozer got off to an exceptionally slow start — at least offensively — in the team’s opener.

In his first half of true collegiate action, he scored zero points on 0-for-7 shooting, missing all three of his triples and adding three rebounds, three steals and a block. Boozer’s defense was great — something scouts are side-eyeing given his size — though the rest of his winning game didn’t follow.

Half two was a different story.

Boozer finished with a double-double, scoring all 15 of his points in the final frame, and managing to get to 13 boards in total.He shot just 3-for-12 overall and failed to hit a triple, but finished 9-for-12 from the free throw line in showcasing his downhill physicality. 

All in all, he helped fuel the Blue Devils to a casual, 15-point win over the Longhorns, still managing to look like the team’s best prospect in the process.

It wasn’t a sparkling debut, assuredly not the one he or others were expecting after his exhibition dominance. But continuing to fuel winning basketball, even on a night when the shot wasn’t falling, is ultimately Boozer’s best draft case.

Boozer won't often see slow scoring nights — his strength, touch and shooting ability will see to that — but NBA teams will take solace in the fact he can make an impact sans-scoring. His defense looked up to par, and his rebounding and frontcourt play-making are major pluses that will move NBA decision-makers.

Duke next takes on WCU on Saturday, Nov. 8, where Boozer will look to bounce back.