Cayden Boozer Emerging From His Twin's Shadow

Duke has historically never struggled to find a capable point guard with both scoring and passing abilities. Facilitating and passing are key from the point in this Duke offense, with weapons like Cameron Boozer and Isaiah Evans readily available.

Caleb Foster has held the role so far this season, but one Duke freshman, who has stayed under the radar for the most part, is blossoming early on.

Cayden Boozer

Cameron's twin brother, Cayden, has progressed and found more success with each passing game. The four-star guard has taken a backseat to his brother in the spotlight, with Cameron being a projected top pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and a candidate for several awards.

Now, Cayden is finding his groove running the point off the bench. Through six games, Boozer is averaging eight points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals. Boozer turned in his best performance as a Blue Devil so far in a win against Niagara, dropping 11 points and two assists in 17 minutes off the bench.

Boozer also drilled three triples in the game, which has not been a big part of his game this season. He had been just 2-of-8 from long range this season before the game. The sudden shooting surge could be a sign of growth and things to come.

"There's definitely a difference from high school," Boozer said. "The line's a little bit further. But also, the shots I got were just really good shots. My teammates got me really wide-open looks, and obviously, I feel like I'm a really good shooter. I haven't started the year strong, but I know the shots are going to fall eventually."

The bigger part of Boozer's game, however, is his ability to dish the ball to open teammates and set up scores. That's something Duke has desperately needed from the point guard position in recent years: a pure distributor.

The last time Duke had a player average at least five assists per game was Tre Jones, who had 6.4 assists per game during the 2019-20 season. Since then, the Blue Devils have had a big man lead the team in assists twice (Wendell Moore Jr. and Cooper Flagg), and Cameron Boozer currently leads in assists with four per game.

Cayden had three sweet dimes against Kansas that showed his potential to possibly break that streak. Foster has played enough to this point, but Boozer is starting to earn more playing time off the bench. He also had eight assists in Duke's visit to West Point in a win over Army.

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