TL;DR
- Duke's 2024-25 roster, with top NBA draft prospects, narrowly missed the NCAA championship last season.
- The team's lack of a true point guard was a weakness, but Cayden Boozer showed promise in that role.
- Cayden Boozer, a highly-touted freshman, demonstrated poise and playmaking ability in a recent victory.
- His game and physical attributes suggest he could be Duke's solution at point guard this season.
Duke basketball's 2024-25 roster, featuring a starting lineup all projected within the top 50 NBA Draft selections, nearly reached their sixth NCAA championship, falling short by just 19 seconds. The Blue Devils possessed such abundant talent that they navigated almost 40 games before the absence of a true point guard proved to be their undoing.
Will we need to wait as long to be sure about the Devils this season, or might they actually figure this out before calamity arrives?
Maybe Duke’s best option at point guard is obvious: with a legendary last name, a high-profile brother, a celebrity dad and a game that might fit the position better than any Devil since the 2019-20 season.
Cameron Boozer, Cayden Boozer's twin brother, inherited his father Carlos's physical attributes and talent, resulting in him securing nearly every available high school player of the year accolade and being recognized as the third-ranked player in the 2025 recruitment cycle. Cameron is projected to be Duke's top performer and could potentially vie for all college player of the year honors this coming winter.
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During the latter part of the Blue Devils' 78-66 victory against Kansas at the yearly Champions Classic, Cayden demonstrated the capability to resolve this program's enduring deficiency.
Not since Tre Jones averaged 6.2 assists on a 25-6 team in 2019-20 that finished second in the ACC but, like everyone else, did not get the chance to compete in the NCAA Tournament – not in five years has Duke featured a player who averaged even 5 assists. Twice, the team was led in that category by a frontcourt player, including Cooper Flagg last season and his 4.2 assists per game.
Crazy, right?
Sion James stepped into the position roughly a month into last season, helped the Devils finish with 35 wins and was an important component of the most efficient offense in Division I basketball, but his expiration date arrived in the Final Four semifinal against Houston, when he produced zero assists and turned over the ball on an inbounds play with 30 seconds left to aid the Cougars’ spectacular comeback.
The institution responsible for producing NCAA career assists leader Bobby Hurley, alongside Steve Wojciechowski, Jay Williams, Chris Duhon, and Tyus Jones, has recently struggled to field a competitive team at the crucial point guard spot.
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Indeed, this is a program that won the 2010 NCAA Championship with a converted shooting guard, Jon Scheyer, operating at the point. He earned All-America honors, averaged 18.2 points and just short of 5 assists and now, in fact, is the team’s head coach.
Last season, Scheyer opted to move James to the point guard position, a decision made after sophomore Caleb Foster initially had the opportunity to lead the team. This change proved to be the correct one. It appears we might be facing a similar situation once more.
Cayden entered the game in the first half with Duke trailing, 27-24, and the Devils tied the game inside a minute. He was in charge as they powered to a 41-33 lead at the break – a 17-6 surge – and handled much of the second half, as well, with Scheyer opting to deploy both point guards to close out the game.
With 1:33 left, Cayden and his brother executed a pick-and-roll that looked as if they’d been playing together their entire lives, with Cameron easily converting the layup that delivered the last two of his 18 points.
Cayden Boozer's stat line showed 7 points, 3 assists, and a plus-17. He sank his lone three-point try and secured 4 boards. Foster managed only 1 assist and ended with a minus-1 rating.
“I think they showed great toughness, and great poise, especially if you’re a freshman and this is your first time in the Garden, like some of these guys,” Scheyer told reporters afterward. “Especially down the stretch … we just showed great poise. That’s what it’s all about.”
The shift at point guard marked the beginning. Cayden Boozer, a five-star recruit in the 2025 high school cohort, possesses the stature of contemporary playmakers. Standing at 6-4 and weighing 208 pounds, he's comparable in height to NBA standouts Tyrese Halliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He isn't adapting to the role; this is his natural game. This opportunity could be pivotal for him.
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