The 2024-25 edition of Duke basketball, a team whose every starter who would be chosen inside the first 50 picks of the NBA Draft, came within 19 seconds of playing for the program’s sixth NCAA championship. The Blue Devils had so much sheer talent, in fact, that they made it through nearly 40 games before the lack of a genuine point guard became decisive.
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.
Cayden Boozer’s twin brother Cameron got the size and skill of his father Carlos, leading him to claim pretty much every high school player of the year award that’s presented and to be ranked the No. 3 player in the 2025 recruiting class. Cameron will be Duke’s best player and might contend for every college player of the year award this winter.
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In the second half of a 78-66 Blue Devils win over Kansas at the annual Champions Classic, though, Cayden flashed the potential to address this program’s one persistent weakness.
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 college that gave you NCAA career assists leader Bobby Hurley, as well as Steve Wojciechowski, Jay Williams, Chris Duhon and Tyus Jones, has suddenly been trying just to get by at the most important position on the floor.
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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.
It was Scheyer who last season made the switch to James at the point after sophomore Caleb Foster got the first chance to run the show. And it turned out to be the right call. It seems we may be at that juncture again.
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.
On the box score, Cayden Boozer wound up with 7 points, 3 assists and a plus-17 rating. He made his only three-point shot attempt and grabbed 4 rebounds. Foster produced just 1 assist and finished 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.”
It began with the switch at point guard. Cayden Boozer was a five-star prospect in the 2025 high school class. He’s got the size of the new breed of playmakers – at 6-4, 208, he’s nearly as tall as NBA prototypes Tyrese Halliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s not having to convert to the position. This is what Cayden is. And this could be his chance.
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