Here we are. It’s finally time to talk about Duke! Despite coming up short again the tournament, they were loaded again and had multiple NBA Draft prospects and a plethora of returners worth discussing. Let’s break it down and talk about one of the very best prospects in this class, Cameron Boozer.
Cameron Boozer
Cameron Boozer is arguably the most decorated high school player of all time. He has won at basically every single level and won every award you can win for high school athletics. He and his twin brother Cayden went to Duke and, to the surprise of no one, continued to dominate. He won National Player of the Year and is one of the most statistically dominant players in recent memory. He is the son of former NBA player Carlos Boozer.
On Drives: 42/81 = 51.9%
On Layups: 161/259 = 62.2%
On Pullups: 7/20 = 35%
On Dunks: 35/36 = 94.3%
It is absolutely bonkers that he has 318 rim attempts in a season. That is such an essential part of his game that it does make me a little concerned if he isn’t able to overcome NBA athleticism consistently. However, the profile is undeniable. Statistically, there’s almost no weaknesses except for the blocks. He can probably play a bit of small ball center at times if he plays with another big.
Now, I really want to draw particular attention to the concerns people have about his potential. Just because he’s not a crazy vertical athlete or super lanky doesn’t mean he doesn’t have very high potential. We had the same concerns about Luka Doncic, Alperen Sengun, Kon Knueppel, Austin Reaves, and the list just goes on. Maybe people think he doesn’t have a ton of potential because he’s already mastered a lot of the stuff he needs to master. Let’s also just not forget that not a lot of NBA players do ever fully master all the skills they need to master. I think Cameron Boozer’s upside is as high as just about anyone in this draft. I have a lot of confidence in him getting better and being a big-time star in the league at some point. It doesn’t mean he’s not flawless or that he’s the undoubted #1 pick in the draft. I currently have him at #1, but I think the margin is getting very thin. I have Wilson at 4, but the top 3 is getting very hard for me to pick between.
Now, I’ll emphasize this at the end of the article, but for dynasty purposes, there’s no other way to say it. This is the clearcut #1 player for dynasty rookie drafts . Don’t get cute with it. Don’t overthink it. If you don’t want to take Boozer, that’s fine, but trade back and get some value in return. Question the real-life upside if you want, but NO ONE in this draft, including AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, or Caleb Wilson, have the fantasy upside that Boozer has.
Frankly, Barttorvik queries are kind of useless for someone like Cam Boozer. He was so statistically dominant that I can’t feasibly find a close enough comparison. The other freshmen on this list are Zion Williamson and Anthony Davis, both of which were unanimous first overall picks in their classes. So, yeah, Boozer’s going to be fine.
Isaiah Evans
Isaiah Evans was a top ranked HS recruit that went to Duke. He had a solid freshman season, but his stock fell into the 21-40 range. Despite being invited to the NBA Draft Combine, he decided to go back after Duke upped their offer. This summer, he improved his in-between game and became more of an offensive threat. He declared for the draft and the expectation is that he stays in, despite his stock not really improving.
On Drives: 25/37 = 67.6%
On Layups: 34/55 = 61.8%
On Pullups: 18/41 = 43.9%
On Dunks: 16/18 = 89%
You can see a very efficient shot chart here. He doesn’t get to the rim a lot but he’s efficient when he does. If my memory serves correct, I’m certain a lot of those rim attempts were in transition. That’s not why he’s being considered a draft prospect, though. It’s all about the shooting and how he can get red-hot at any moment. In high school, he was compared a lot to Brandon Ingram in terms of his shot selection, and that got cleaned up at Duke. Now, will he translate to the next level? People will see Isaiah Joe as a comparison and think that it's totally possible, given that Isaiah Joe just shoots threes for the Thunder. However, Joe had a lot more of an in-between game at Arkansas that he hasn’t really shown that much in the NBA apart from random highlight dunks. Evans doesn’t really have that in his bag yet. I think it might take a year or two before it works for Evans, if it does at all.
You can see here that the track record isn’t amazing. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could defend at a higher level than Isaiah Evans has shown up to this point. Evans knows where he needs to be but he needs to get stronger. Jordan Hawkins has really struggled in the NBA up to this point, but Evans is bigger than Hawkins by a small margin. Evans has gained some more weight since his college days, coming in at 186 at the Combine. If he lands with a smart coach that knows how to weaponize his skillset, he has a real shot to be a good rotation player.
Maliq Brown
Maliq Brown started out at Syracucse where he became an All-ACC defender. He transferred to Duke and has been vital to their success to the past couple of years. He outplayed Khaman Maluach for most of last season and outplayed Patrick Ngongba for more stretches than Ngongba’s biggest proponents would want to admit. This does not mean I’m saying he is a better prospect than either of those players and I don’t think I need to make that clear.
On Drives: 2/5 = 40%
On Layups: 34/50 = 68%
On Pullups: 0/0 = 0%
On Dunks: 21/24 = 87.5%
Okay… where do I begin? Well, the offense is pretty limited to being around the rim. However, the defense might just be so insane that it doesn’t matter. He’s just so smart on defense that he might be good enough to get on the court even if he’s as close to a zero on offense as you can get. This is not someone that will likely be a fantasy player but someone who eats up minutes in the regular season and plays minutes in defense-only situations. Also, just going back to what I said about him being better than Khaman Malauch: For context, head coach Jon Scheyer benched Malauch for Brown multiple times. Malauch was super raw and made a lot of mistakes. Maliq is basically the opposite of Malauch in that sense and has a much higher feel on the defensive end. The point here: Invest in smart basketball players. This would be someone Oklahoma City could draft and make life absolutely miserable for teams if they develop the 3-point shot.
The track record here is just not good. Frankly, it’s not until I up the usage filter to 22% before I get someone that stuck in the league, which was Kyle Anderson. So, understand that the offense needs to develop on some level, and he’ll likely be a bit of a project that can play well on one end. Still, he’s a great teammate and will be a great practice guy to go against at the very least and that matters.
Quick Hits:
So, Duke has a lot of other prospects on their team. Shocker, I know. Let’s talk about a few of them:
Patrick Ngongba II was their starting center this year. He has a crazy analytical profile and is a good passer for his size. If you’re on Draft Twitter, you’ve definitely seen big boards with him in the top 5 in some cases. However, he’s had now 3 straight years (both CBB season and his senior season of HS) of consistent foot injuries for a big-bodied, heavy-set big who hasn’t played significant minutes at any point in his college career. Jeff Goodman also reported on a podcast that he had surgery again, but should be ready for camp. It’s possible just might never be healthy. On top of that, he disappeared a lot in games. Good luck next year, Pat. With a 2027 class that’s very empty on big men, he’ll hope to emerge as a first-round talent again.
Dame Sarr is a lanky Italian wing who committed to Duke in place of Cedric Coward, who stayed in the 2025 NBA Draft. Sarr was pretty shaky to start the year, but really came along late. The defense is the calling card for him on the wing. If he shoots next season, he could go as high as the top 20. NBA teams love wings in Sarr’s mold.
Cayden Boozer is the twin brother of Cameron Boozer. While he is a good prospect in his own right, I always viewed Cayden as a multi-year guy with a potential TJ McConnell type of outcome. I do expect him to get some buzz next season as a potential backup PG prospect. He’s smart, physical, and got a lot better throughout the year.
Nikolas Khamenia was another big-time recruit who played sparingly this season. He’s an off-ball shooter with size that’s had some nice flashes. He’s transferring to UConn where he could have a breakout under Dan Hurley.
Darren Harris is a lights-out shooter who sat on the bench for two seasons. He’s transferring to Indiana, where I do expect him to break out and emerge as one of the best 3-point shooters in the country.
Caleb Foster has one more year at Duke coming up. If the offense takes a leap, there’s a chance he could get drafted next year, but I’m not that hopeful.
For Dynasty:
For Cameron Boozer , this is the clear-cut #1 pick in dynasty drafts. I don’t care if you like AJ, Darryn, or Caleb. I do too. Nobody, and I mean nobody, has the fantasy upside that Cameron has. Don’t overthink it. There’s a very real chance that he’s a top 50 level performer as a rookie, then top 25 as a sophomore, then top 12 from here on out. If you don’t want Boozer, I’d cash out now and try and get another potential stud. That 1st overall pick is going to net you a massive return.
For Isaiah Evans , he should be one of the first players off the board in the second round. This is someone you take in the 21-40 range. You will need to have some level of patience for you to reap the rewards. If Isaiah Joe is valuable in your league, he should have some value if he hits. If you don’t want a potential specialist type of player, this is not the guy to take.
For Maliq Brown , this is someone that could be drafted from 41 and on. Don’t expect many fantasy numbers if you draft him. This would be more of a bet on him being an NBA player and being solid if you buy the defense and your league format permits you to hold onto the Kenrich Williams’s of the world.
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