After earning their place as blue-chip prospects coming out of high school, it didn’t take long for twins Cameron and Cayden Boozer to earn their place as household names while playing for the Duke Blue Devils.
From Cameron’s National Player of the Year-worthy campaign through the season to Cayden’s inspirational run through the ACC Tournament and the start of the big dance, they have been nearly as dominant at Duke as they were in high school (winning four state championships and even more titles in AAU or on Team USA).
Most recently, as Duke marched its way through the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils relied on the Boozers’ history of success and familiarity with each other on the court, not a bad idea when they’ve played next to one another for literally their entire lives.
“It makes it a lot easier when you know you always have someone you can trust on the court,” Cayden said. “You just have that trust of, no matter what you do, we always have each other's backs.”
Of course, their dad, Carlos Boozer, was an elite player when he was in college, also playing for the Blue Devils, and he has made sure that his twin sons stay level-headed throughout their meteoric rise to the top of the sport.
“Just be where your feet are… be in the moment, you’ll only be in college once in your life,” Cameron said about their dad’s lessons before sending them to Duke.
Since arriving in Durham, the two have remained as mature and poised as a father could hope for his younger two sons, and Carlos has been in attendance for every single game to cheer on Cameron and Cayden at his alma mater.
The Boozer Brother connection has only gotten better at Duke
The two have studied the game religiously, as any elite athlete does, to make their game better. This season, Cameron has broken record after record, including a few held by Duke’s star freshman from last season: Cooper Flagg.
“I haven’t really asked him for advice, but just watching him last year, I took a lot of things. I learned a lot from what he had to go through last year,” Cameron said of Flagg’s one-year career at Duke.
Cayden has quickly emerged as an elite point guard in the game, despite sitting second chair to Caleb Foster, who was the Blue Devils’ starting PG until he suffered a fractured foot at the end of the regular season, for most of the year.
“I feel like just slowing the game down, that’s been a big thing for me. Obviously, college is a lot faster than high school or any other place that I’ve played at,” Cayden said about his growth already this season. “Just being able to slow the game down, understand what my reads are… On a defensive side too, to take that challenge of not getting screened, of getting the right gaps, of being the best defender I can possibly be… It’s been really fun to develop that as the year’s gone on.”
Cameron shared that his biggest area of improvement was his ability to read the court and the game, even though his in-game IQ was already through the roof when he joined the Blue Devils last summer.
Duke earned one of the No. 1-seeds in this year’s NCAA Tournament, and that is due in large part to Cameron’s season-long efforts and Cayden’s massive moments of poise in the ACC Tournament and beyond.
Off the court, the Boozer twins have unsurprisingly racked up impressive NIL deals, a common occurrence for star players in this day and age of college sports.
In their latest NIL move, Cameron and Cayden landed a deal with Zaxby's, and they’re pretty excited about it (as any young man in college would be about a deal with a fried chicken company).
This March, Cameron and Cayden Boozer are transferring their loyalty to Zaxby's, and they’re bringing the fans along with them! Through the Zaxby's Transfer Portal on the Zaxby's App, the chicken-obsessed fans who join Zax Rewardz will receive a sign-on bonus in the form of Zaxby's new dry rubs with the purchase of a drink.
As part of the collaboration, Cameron and Cayden teamed up with the brand to create a Zaxby's Boozer Brothers digital-exclusive meal that features Zaxby's iconic Wings & Things Meal featuring Nashville Hot Chicken Fingerz™, Lemon Pepper Wings, Garlic Parm Fries, and a Small Handcrafted Lemonade.