Well, that didn’t exactly go to plan. Duke entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed, but the Blue Devils certainly didn’t look like it for much of the first weekend. After trailing Siena by double-digits at halftime on Thursday, Duke held just a four-point lead over TCU at the break before breaking out and pulling away to bury the ninth-seeded Horned Frogs 81-58 to advance to the third Sweet 16 of Jon Scheyer’s young head coaching career.
National Player of the Year, Cameron Boozer, like the rest of the Blue Devils, took a half to wake up. After attempting just one field goal and scoring only two points before the intermission, Boozer finished a 19-point double-double. The second half went a long way to calm Duke fans’ nerves, and so should his postgame comments on the floor with CBS’s Tracy Wolfson.
“I’m looking forward to all of it,” Boozer responded to Wolfson’s question about making his first trip to the Sweet 16. “All of this is the first experience for a lot of our guys, but the older guys have done a great job getting us prepared, and we’re going to be ready for sure.”
Duke’s young stars may have finally settled into the NCAA Tournament
It’s easy to forget that Cameron Boozer is still an 18-year-old freshman. Especially for Duke fans who are used to cycling through the best freshmen in the country year after year in Durham. Still, for as fantastic as he’s been in his unanimous All-American season, this is Boozer’s first time under the bright lights of March, and with Patrick Ngongba limited to 13 minutes off the bench vs. TCU and Caleb Foster out, he has a massive responsibility on his and his twin brother’s shoulders.
The biggest story of the season in college basketball was the freshmen class, but last year, freshmen didn’t play a single minute in the national championship game between Houston and Florida. Duke was the only freshman-led team in the Final Four a year ago, and in the Transfer Portal and NIL era, which is keeping players in college basketball much longer, veterans have often put their stamp on the tournament.
Duke isn’t wrong to hand the reins of its program to Cooper Flagg last year and Boozer this year. However, in an era of 22 and 23-year-olds leading championship contenders, you run the risk of a slow start or shaky play in the biggest moments. The hope has to be, after a scare against Siena and a 17-turnover performance with five from Cameron Boozer, that Duke’s freshmen have finally settled in and will be better in the Sweet 16.
Boozer may not be experienced, but now, Jon Scheyer is
If that’s not enough to take solace in, Boozer’s other comments should be. “I wasn’t worried,” Boozer said about his two-point first half. “I knew Coach was going to find a way to get me going; he always does.”
With Boozer still stuck at four points four minutes into the second half, down 40-38 coming out of a timeout, Scheyer drew up an excellent set to spring Boozer going towards the rim with a back screen from Evans. Boozer’s wide-open layup tied the game at 40, and from the point, Duke outscored TCU 41-18.
Early in his tenure, Scheyer could have been accused of just playing the Coach K greatest hits album. Now, the program, and specifically the offense, is something uniquely his own. He knows the buttons to push and the dials to turn to get his team back on course. He proved that on Thursday and Saturday.
Duke’s best players may not have any experience in March. But after the last three seasons, Scheyer does, and that might be the biggest reason the ship hasn’t sunk when it started taking on water.