By: Ty Scott
October 3, 2024
The following in an opinion column written by a member of the Duke Wisdom Network. You can submit columns or news commentary of your own by joining the network.
According to some hardcore Dukies, the Blue Devils' recruiting is going through a drought.
It's easy to think that when Duke hasn’t had a commitment since current freshman center Khaman Maluach pledged in April. But to me, it seems that the transfer portal era has changed the high school recruiting landscape.
In the class of 2025, 15 of 247sports' top 50 rated players have committed to a school so far, yet none of them have committed to Duke. In recent years, the Blue Devils — who typically pull down a top two recruiting class —usually have one or two early commits before Countdown to Craziness; but this year, that’s not the case.
But, there’s no need to panic. Head coach Jon Scheyer will get commitments for the 2025 class, I have no doubt about that. The only questions to me are: Who will it be? And who will be the first?
The Duke coaching staff has offers out to a handful of talented high school seniors in varying positions. Some reporters and fans have stated that this recruiting class will operate under the idea that, “If this happens, then this will likely happen or won’t happen." In other words, one domino will fall, and the rest will follow. And the first dominoes to fall for this class will likely be Cameron and Cayden Boozer, also known as The Boozer Twins — the two sons of Duke legend and national champion, Carlos Boozer. Many experts predict that Cameron and Cayden will play together in college for at least one year (with Cameron rated as a top prospect for the 2026 NBA Draft, it seems unlikely both spend more than a season in college).
The Boozer twins are two known winners from Miami, Florida. Cameron Boozer, the higher ranked of the two, is considered the second best player in the class, behind only AJ Dybantsa.
With Cameron, you know what he will give you each game. He’s a 6-foot-9 power forward who is considered the most consistent player in his class, and according to Eric Bossi of 247sports, he plays a lot in the low post and likes to face the rim on offense similar to former Duke star Paolo Banchero. Cameron is also known for making long outlet passes, many of which end up in the hands of his twin brother Cayden.
Cayden Boozer is ranked No. 21 in the class of 2025, per 247sports. He is rated as the No. 4 point guard in the class as well. Cayden is a floor general, and he is a big guard at 6-foot-4. Cameron may be considered the better player of the two, but Cayden is still a very good player himself. Still, experts expect Cayden to be in college for longer than his brother (i.e., more than a season).
Cayden is a smooth, unselfish player and passer. He can get to the rim or shoot a three when needed. And much like his brother's outlet passes, many of Cayden's dimes end up being assists to his brother in the low post. I guess that twin telepathy is a real thing.
Now, there’s the discussion of where they will be playing in college.
When the twins first entered the recruiting scene, most college basketball fans assumed that they would follow in their dad’s footsteps and play at Duke. However, as someone who has been closely following their recruiting journey, it has been far from cut-and-dry. The Boozers have kept their recruitment more close-lipped than any other recruits I’ve followed.
Cayden and Cameron are officially down to three teams: Duke, Florida and Miami. But many consider Miami and Duke to be the top contenders. Of course, each team’s fans and insiders consider their team to be the leader.
Over the past few days, college hoops fans, team insiders and other national recruiting experts have said that they are hearing the twins will be committing next week (sometime around the middle of the week, with Thursday being floated as a possible date).
As of right now, most are predicting one of two options for the twins: they’ll either follow their father to Duke, or they'll stay home in South Beach. We will just have to wait a to finally see what they choose. But this fan predicts that the two end up playing their college careers in Cameron Indoor Stadium, creating their own story along the way.
Ty Scott | @tyscottsays on X / Twitter
Edited by Ben McCormick
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