Top NBA prospect Cameron Boozer reflects on a "blessing" year after Duke's tournament exit, likely his final game.
The overall talent on No. 1 seed Duke was better than the team that made the Final Four last year with Cooper Flagg.
Cameron Boozer is expected to be a top pick in the upcoming NBA draft. But injuries to Malik Brown, Patrick Ngongba II, and Caleb Foster hurt the Blue Devils down the stretch.
Ngongba and Foster both came off the bench to play against UConn in the Elite Eight on Sunday. Both players battled foot injuries through the NCAA Tournament.
Those injuries help in part explain the 73-72 loss to No. 2 seed UConn in front of a crowd of 19,502 at Capital One Arena.
With the 2026 NBA Draft ahead of him, Sunday's game is expected to be the last for Boozer in a Duke uniform.
When speaking to reporters after the game, Boozer said that he was "hurting" after the loss, but called his time with the Blue Devils a "blessing."
“Honestly, this whole year has been a huge blessing," Boozer said, via Tar Heel Tribune. "I mean, I came here, and I learned so much from our players — not just from the coaches, our whole players. We’re just such a connected group. I love those guys.
"We worked so hard all year. Then just the coaches, we had a group of — they had five guys leave. We had five freshmen come in. We had five guys return. Just the way they coached us, they brought us together, taught us to fight, taught us to play together."
Boozer said he learned a great deal from Duke head coach Jon Scheyer's staff.
Boozer thought his team fought hard, but felt like the way they played in the second half gave UConn life.
"I think we fought hard," Boozer said. "We gave a lot, but I think as a whole we could have given a lot more in the second half.”
"We came out a little flat and gave them a little bit of life. When you’re playing a team as good as UConn, that’s all they really need."
Boozer earned a game-high 27 points to go along with eight assists and four rebounds. The freshman averaged 22.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 4.1 assists.
While Duke's run in the NCAA Tournament didn't end as Boozer hoped, he did lead the team to a win in the ACC Tournament. Duke also won the regular season ACC championship.