Duke Remains An Elite Program Despite Losing 3 Top 10 NBA Draft Picks

At Madison Square Garden Tuesday night, Carlos Boozer and Jay Williams reunited, a quarter century after playing together at Duke and leading the Blue Devils to the 2001 NCAA tournament championship. Williams was there as an ESPN analyst, while Boozer sat in the stands watching his twin freshmen sons, Cameron and Cayden, compete for Duke.

A quarter century has passed, and college basketball has undergone numerous changes, but at least one thing is constant since the days when Williams was a first team All-American point guard and Boozer was a dominant power forward: Duke remains a national power. Even after having their entire starting lineup selected in June’s NBA draft, including three freshmen in the top 10, the Blue Devils have reloaded.

On Tuesday, Duke defeated Kansas 78-66 in the Champions Classic, improving to 5-0. The Blue Devils are fifth in the Associated Press poll but first in the rankings of respected analysts Ken Pomeroy and Evan Miyakawa.

The scary part for other programs?

“I think the room for us to grow is as big as any team in the country,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said after Tuesday’s game.

Indeed, Scheyer is still figuring out Duke’s optimal lineup, as he sees which players complement each other on the court. He’s not complaining about the situation. Instead, Scheyer on Tuesday seemed to know he’s in an enviable position with a deep, skilled and tall roster that he and his staff assembled.

Duke’s starters include Cameron Boozer and fellow freshman Dame Sarr and three reserves from last season in junior Caleb Foster and sophomores Patrick Ngongba and Isaiah Evans. Boozer, a 6-foot-9 forward, has emerged as the top player, leading the team with 21.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.4 blocks per game. He is playing the leading role held last year by Cooper Flagg, the national player of the year as a freshman and the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft. Boozer is first in KenPom’s national player of the year standings, just like Flagg was a year ago.

On Tuesday, Boozer had a team-high 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and made three layups in the final 5:21 to help stave off Kansas. And that was considered a ho-hum night for a player who could end up as a top-three selection in next year’s draft.

“I still don’t even think he played incredible,” Scheyer said. “That’s the thing that’s really exciting.”

He added: “I think there’s more to be had, and I think that’s the exciting part…This place is different, playing at MSG. It’s different. I thought he did a really good job handling that.”

Cayden Boozer, a reserve point guard, also performed well on the big stage, scoring seven points on 3 of 5 shooting with three assists in 24 minutes. The Boozer brothers showed little emotion, displayed no nerves and played like they had throughout high school, only this was against a much higher level of competition. The Boozers led their Miami high school team to four consecutive state titles and their grassroots team to three straight championships in the prestigious Nike EYBL summer circuit.

On Tuesday, Cayden Boozer played the final seven minutes alongside Foster, the starting point guard. It was a strategic change for Scheyer, who normally doesn’t have Boozer and Foster on the court at the same time, but it worked against an athletic Kansas team and could be something Duke implements more as the season progresses. Duke had just two turnovers in the second half and none from Boozer or Foster.

“I think these guys have done a great job playing for each other, being ready when their moment is called,” Scheyer said. “I thought obviously Cayden did a great job of that. Caleb made some big-time plays.”

Besides Cayden Boozer and the starters, the others in Duke’s nine-man rotation are senior forward Maliq Brown, sophomore guard Darren Harris and freshman Nikolas Khamenia. The Blue Devils are a big team, with the 6-foot-4 Cayden Boozer the smallest player, causing matchup nightmares for opponents. That’s the same as last year, when the starting lineup featured the 6-foot-9 Flagg, 6-foot-7 freshman guard Kon Knueppel (the No. 4 pick in the draft), 7-foot-2 freshman center Khaman Maluach (No. 10 selection), 6-foot-5 senior guard Sion James (No. 33 choice) and 6-foot-5 junior guard Tyrese Proctor (No. 49 pick).

Only a few teams gave Duke any problem last season, as the Blue Devils finished 35-4, had streaks of 15 and 16 consecutive victories, won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the Final Four, where they blew a nine-point lead with two minutes left and lost to Houston. It will be hard for the Blue Devils to replicate the same dominance this season, although they defeated Texas in the season opener and beat Kansas Tuesday, albeit without KU’s star freshman guard Darryn Peterson, the potential No. 1 pick in next year’s draft who sat out with a hamstring injury.

Duke has four more notable non-conference games in the next few weeks against No. 21 Arkansas in Chicago on Thanksgiving night, versus No. 10 Florida at home on Dec. 2, at No. 17 Michigan State on Dec. 6 and against No. 15 Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20. By then, Scheyer should have a better idea of what lineups work best and where his team stands among the nation’s elite. Chances are, Duke will enter ACC play as the favorite and a team in the mix for another Final Four run.