“I ruined our team’s season,” said Cayden Boozer tearfully after Duke crashed out of the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight last month. It should have been the perfect freshman story for him. But everything went south in that game when his turnover led to a game-winning three-pointer, with just 10 seconds remaining. However, as it appears, Cayden Boozer will now have a second chance to rewrite his story at Duke.

On Thursday, April 16, the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball program officially announced via their social media accounts that Boozer will be returning to Durham for his sophomore campaign.

Boozer started last season in a reserve role. But after an injury to teammate Caleb Foster, he got into the starting lineup late in the season. And he did thrive. He helped lead Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball to an ACC Tournament title and up to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Thrust into the starting lineup late in the season, he thrived, helping lead Duke to an ACC Tournament title and an Elite Eight run while averaging a solid 7.7 points and 3.0 assists over the course of 38 games, which included 11 starts. He also finished the season with a 50% success rate of shooting from the field, 30.3% from three-point range, and 81.3% from the free-throw line.

In short, Cayden Boozer’s freshman season got progressively better until that UConn game. But to be fair, while a lot of fans still heckle him for that loss, he wasn’t entirely responsible for it. The team actually surrendered a massive 19-point lead during the game.

But then, regardless of whatever happened in that game, Cayden, unlike his brother Cameron Boozer, didn’t exactly look like he was going to turn out to be a lottery pick. In fact, while his twin brother entered the college landscape as a projected one-and-done lottery selection, Cayden’s path to the NBA was always viewed by scouts as a multi-year college process. Their father, former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, even actively pushed back on that assumption in March, saying that Cayden would likely return for a sophomore season.

Perhaps, one day, the brothers will reunite again. They had one of the best ever high school careers playing together for four years, to the point that they even had their jerseys retired. And playing together on the Duke team was a special year for Cayden, as he himself said. He will now continue his college basketball journey alone, as his brother takes his own journey further into the NBA. 

Alongside Cayden, the Blue Devils also have 6-foot-11 center Patrick Ngongba and guard Dame Sarr returning for their sophomore year. Caleb Foster is still cloudy on his decision, weighing whether to return to Duke for his senior season or explore pro options. 

Many will definitely agree that Cayden Boozer’s choice, as well as that of the returning Duke second-year players, is the best for now. Hopefully, he develops, puts out even better performances, returns for the draft, and perhaps also rewrites his story with the Duke Blue Devils, which the fans will love very much.

NCAA Fans React After Cayden Boozer Announces Return to Duke For Sophomore Season

Cayden Boozer’s announcement of his return to the Duke Blue Devils for his sophomore year has sparked quite a number of reactions from NCAA fans. But it didn’t really look unexpected, because unlike his brother Cameron Boozer, he wasn’t exactly going to be a top pick. In fact, had he decided to enter the NBA Draft, he was largely projected as a late second-round pick or even an undrafted free agent.

And that seemed like exactly how some fans felt reacting to the news. As one fan expressed, “No shock there… dude knew he wasn’t hearing his name on draft night. Duke eating good tho.” Another fan, echoing a similar sentiment, went even more blunt, said, “Let’s be honest, nobody was drafting lil bro 😭😭😭 especially after that choke job he did.”

And exactly like that, many other fans could not help but tie Cayden’s decision to the turnover against UConn. One fan said, “Bro threw away his entire NBA career off this one turnover 😭💀,” believing he lost his chance at the league because of that moment. Another fan who believes Cayden still had a point to prove at UConn also added, “Duh! Gotta redeem himself to bring his draft stock back up.”

For some fans, however, there were really no other choices for Cayden aside from returning. As one fan put it, “This is not breaking news. The kid had nowhere else to go, of course he was going back to Duke.” But whether that is actually true is something we will never get to know. For now, Cayden Boozer will focus on doing even better. And maybe he will be back in the draft next year, or the year after. Only time will tell.