Duke’s Cam Boozer Reacts After NBA Draft Decision

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Will Chesanek | Last updated Apr 23, 2026 7:41 PM ET

Cameron Boozer and the Duke Blue Devils are coming off a heartbreaking end to their March Madness run. After defeating the Virginia Cavaliers 74-70 in the ACC Tournament championship game, the 32-2 Blue Devils received the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Duke’s season came to a halt in the Elite Eight when Braylon Mullins sank a 35-foot game-winning three to send the Connecticut Huskies to the Final Four. Boozer did all he could in the matchup, scoring 27 points and hauling in eight rebounds while playing 39 of a possible 40 minutes. Boozer was the Blue Devils’ leader all season, averaging a team-high in points (22.5 per game, No. 9 in NCAA), rebounds (10.2 per game, No. 13 in NCAA) and assists (4.1 per game).

Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) goes to the basket against Virginia Cavaliers center Ugonna Onyenso (33) during the men's ACC Conference Tournament Championship at Spectrum Center in Charlotte.Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

A teammate of Boozer who could have done more in the Connecticut loss is sophomore guard Isaiah Evans. Evans was second on the team in scoring for the season (15.0 points per game), yet scored only seven against the Huskies. The 6-foot-6 guard arrived in Durham as a highly touted five-star prospect out of the 2024 class.

The North Mecklenburg High School graduate played in 36 games as a freshman, taking advantage of his minutes (6.8 points per game in 13.7 minutes). Head coach Jon Scheyer trusted Evans to start all 38 games for the Blue Devils in the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season. Evans turned potential into production that sophomore season, doubling his minutes per game (28.2) and scoring (15.0) from the prior year.

It appears Evans believes this is enough to take him to the next level, as on Wednesday, he declared early for the NBA draft. That same day, Boozer went to social media to celebrate his now-former teammate. On his Instagram story, Boozer posted a screenshot of Evans’ announcement, captioning the photo with “League Slim ⌚️‼️.”

After two seasons in Durham, @DukeMBB's Isaiah Evans announced that he is declaring for the NBA draft Wednesday. Evans started all 38 games for the Blue Devils last season: https://t.co/lyGixhwR8I
— Duke Basketball (@dukebasketball) April 22, 2026