Jon Scheyer clearly knows how to spot talent. Since he took over, Duke has seen 35 players get drafted, and 26 of them went in the first round. Last year was no exception, with Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach all cracking the top 10. And now, early in the 2025–26 season, it looks like he’s found another one. Cameron Boozer just dropped 35 in his fourth game. Still, as impressive as that scoring run is, that’s not the part Scheyer is most excited about.

What matters to the Head Coach is the shift in the guard’s mentality. “Obviously, Cam Boozer had a special night. For me, it was about his approach. He’s such a competitor. He didn’t love the way he played at Army. He came back so determined,” Scheyer shared in the post-game press conference.

And the HC has a point. Boozer is talented-some call it his magic. And, it’s hard to believe he’s a freshman. He’s averaging 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. Whether it’s long rebounds, tight putbacks, or cleaning up his own misses, the Miami native always finds a way to affect the game and create opportunities.

But not every night is a highlight reel, and Boozer knows it. His game against Army West Point proved that. Duke won 114–59, but Boozer wasn’t the headline. He posted 15 points, nine rebounds, and four assists on 50% shooting. He also went 4-for-8 from the field. Not a bad stat line, however, everyone, including Boozer himself, knows what he is capable of. 

Still, he impacted the game in other ways. He drew fouls to push Duke into the bonus. He set strong screens that opened lanes for guards. His offensive boards created second chances. But if you ask him, it wasn’t enough. So he went back, analysed, and returned with a vengeance.

As he put it, “I just had a change in mentality from the last game to this game-focusing on the right things like defense, rebounding, pressuring the ball. When I focus on those things, the other side naturally happens because of that mentality. That was the main thing tonight.”

Clearly, the shift worked. Boozer had 23 points in the first half on 9-for-10 shooting over Indiana State, arguably one of the best halves by a Duke freshman. And he didn’t stop there. He kept the momentum rolling and finished with 35 points on 13-for-16 shooting. Boozer is now tied for second in single-game scoring by a Duke freshman, trailing only Cooper Flagg’s 42-point eruption against Notre Dame.

So, as the coach hinted, the spark is clear. But can he help Duke in the long run? 

What’s next for Cameron Boozer and Duke? 

Duke entered the 2025–26 season coming off a 35–4 record and an ACC regular-season title. Their NCAA Tournament run ended in the Final Four at the hands of Houston last year. But this time, Scheyer is hungry for redemption. He has built a younger, faster, more balanced offensive core-one that lets him reset the team’s identity while keeping the defensive intensity that fueled last year’s deep run.

So far, it’s working. Behind Cameron Boozer, Patrick Ngongba, Dame Sarr, Isaiah Evans, and Caleb Foster, Duke has climbed to 4–0 by mid-November. But the spotlight still belongs to Boozer. He affects every part of the game. That alone makes him a nightmare matchup. He rebounds, scores, and creates for others. Even when his shot is off, his impact isn’t.

Which means, as Duke heads to Madison Square Garden for Tuesday’s showdown against Kansas, Bill Self’s first priority will be stopping Boozer. However, for the Devils to succeed for the rest of the season, they need depth. This means, for  Boozer to have big nights, the team around him will be critical.