Incoming Duke basketball freshman Cameron Boozer is coming into college basketball as potentially the best newcomer in the sport. Although he's ready to hopefully deliver a sixth national title to Durham, the five-star prospect doesn't think Duke is getting the buzz it deserves throughout the preseason.
"I think we have a special group," Boozer told ESPN. "I think we're very overlooked right now, but once the season starts, that'll change for sure. ... I think just playing together, playing hard, defending, competing, we're going to be in a spot to get [to the Final Four] just like they did last year."
The prized recruit and son of former Duke legend Carlos Boozer seems to think that the Blue Devils are flying under the radar in terms of true contenders through the preseason. Aside from Boozer, Jon Scheyer is bringing in the No. 1 overall 2025 recruiting class that includes Cameron's brother, Cayden, a four-star point guard.
The rest of the class is headlined by five-star prospects Nik Khamenia and Dame Sarr. Sarr was a late addition who Scheyer swiped from Kansas after it became clear that Cedric Coward would remain in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Now, although Boozer thinks Duke isn't getting the buzz it deserves, it makes sense to have doubts or questions around this Blue Devils squad. Sure, it's coming off a Final Four appearance and earning a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, but next year's team is completely different.
Duke lost every starter from that Final Four team a season ago and will be very young and inexperienced heading into the 2025-26 campaign. The only upperclassman who will definitely start is rising junior Caleb Foster. The rest of the starting lineup will feature at least two freshmen and potentially three.
Aside from Foster, the only key contributors that Duke brought back were Isaiah Evans, Darren Harris, and Maliq Brown. It's known that Brown is one of the best defenders in college basketball, but he rarely looks for his own offense. With Evans, Harris, and Foster, the potential for a star-studded season is there, but it hasn't happened yet.
Most of the hype around Duke is based on potential and expectations, not proven production. Foster was set for a breakout year as a sophomore, but that didn't go as planned, and Foster even struggled to see the court through the back half of the 2024-25 campaign. Evans was an elite shooter as a freshman, but he'll need to take on a much bigger role offensively as a starter. Does he have the potential to be a great all-around player for a championship-caliber team? Of course, but we haven't seen it yet.
Harris hardly played as a rookie and will likely see a similar 3-and-D role that Evans saw last year.
Although Duke is bringing in the best rookie class of any program, these are still all expectations of how great these new guys will be at the collegiate level. Nothing has been proven.
The point is, Duke is littered with star potential, but not star production. No one on next season's roster has proven to be able to be a significant offensive piece on an elite team, although many of next year's Blue Devils are expected to do so.
Time will tell if Boozer is right and Duke was overlooked throughout the preseason. ESPN slots Duke as the No. 12 team in the nation in its most recent preseason top 25.
The Blue Devils will have tons of opportunities to grow as the season progresses, with maybe the hardest non-con slate in college basketball, but the questions surrounding the program before the season are warranted. It's up to Boozer and the rest of the squad to show that this potential can equal production.