As if Duke fans needed any further reason to love Cameron Boozer than the fact that he's had a dominant freshman season and been the best player in college basketball this season.
He gave it to them anyway.
Boozer put together another strong performance in lifting Duke over St. John's in the Sweet 16 with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. He was put in a position to make decisions off the bounce for the majority of the second half, and he was correct time and time again as Duke overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight for the third straight season.
After the game, Boozer had a strong message for all the Duke haters out there who are rooting against the Blue Devils in the NCAA Tournament:
“You can watch the media. Everyone wants us to lose," Boozer said. "We go into Siena halftime they’re talking about I hope Duke gets upset. We played TCU, they talking about, that’s a physical team we gonna get upset. Same thing with St. John’s. I think we just did a great job blocking out all the noise, focusing on what’s important.”
Cameron Boozer says Duke has done a great job 'blocking out the noise'
Boozer understands what it means to play for Duke better than most freshmen. The hate and vitriol that comes from across the country is different for the team in Durham than anywhere else. His father taught him that, undoubtedly, as he learned it firsthand 25 years ago.
But that kind of hate can become a rallying cry for a team. It has been for many past Duke teams, and it's clear that it's becoming that for this team, too.
The doubt was at an all-time high after the Blue Devils struggled against Siena in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament despite a dominant regular season. The game against TCU was close for a half before Duke ran away with it, and they faced adversity again in the Sweet 16 against St. John's before doing what they've done all year by making the plays that had to be made down the stretch to win.
Adversity always comes during national title hunts. Duke was always going to face it, and they'll be better for it.
They'll face more on Sunday in the Elite Eight against UConn, but Boozer and his teammates will be ready for it.