The Duke Blue Devils are certainly celebrating right now as they are heading to the Elite Eight after dropping 100 points on a very good Arizona team that just wasn't going to go away quietly in their Sweet 16 matchup. However, Duke fans have a little more to celebrate this morning.
One thing that Duke basketball has always been able to do is recruit elite players, just look at Cooper Flagg. Flagg is only a freshman and is already projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the next NBA Draft. Well, another Duke recruit is also making waves, it just so happens to be before he gets to Durham.
Duke signed 5-star recruit Cameron Boozer just won Gatorade National Player of the Year, and the crazy part is not that he simply won the award but that this is his second time winning it. Boozer is the son of former Duke and NBA star Carlos Boozer and is also the twin brother of Cayden Boozer, who is also heading to Durham next season.
Boozer joins an elite group of former high school players to win the award twice, joining Greg Oden, LeBron James, and Brandon Knight. Winning the award once is an honor, as not many players have done so. Flagg won the honor last season, but in 2023, Boozer earned it as a sophomore, and now, as a senior, he wins it again.
Even before stepping foot on the court in a Duke uniform, Boozer is already a projected top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft if he chooses to enter after just one season with the Blue Devils. To be in the same conversation as players like James, Oden, and Knight is something any basketball player could ever dream of.
Boozer has certainly earned himself quite the resume to go along with both of these awards. He is a four-time Florida state high school boys' basketball champion with Columbus (Miami) and is currently readying himself for the National Competition starting next month.
The 6-foot-7 power forward averaged 22.6 points per game, 12.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.3 blocks this season, helping lead his team to a 27-3 record and No. 1 rankings in the USA Today Super 25 Boys Basketball Poll.
Boozer will now focus on the national tour ament ahead and finishing high school before he turns his attention to Duke and may even be joining a National Championship team if the Blue Devils can go all the way in the NCAA Tournament.