Duke freshman Cameron Boozer isn’t just living up to the hype, as he’s putting himself in a position to break records for the Blue Devils. He’s also showing that he has a real chance to win the Freshman of the Year Award.
While that might not mean everything for Duke and Boozer, it’s always a good thing to see players get recognized with individual success.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report named Boozer as the current favorite for the award, noting that his showings have been dominant from opening night up to the beginning of January.
“Really, take your pick as far as the MVP performance is concerned, as Boozer has been consistently dominant, tallying at least 14 points, five rebounds and two assists in every single game and named the KenPom MVP in 10 of 15 games played,” Miller wrote.
The stats alone separate Boozer from most freshmen in the country, but the numbers behind the numbers are what make his case the strongest of any freshman right now.
“Here's the preposterous part of that nugget,” Miller continued. “In the five non-MVP games? Boozer still averaged 17.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.2 steals… “Both Texas and Michigan State found some way to hold him in check in the first half of those games, but no one has even remotely figured out how to stifle him for a full 40 minutes.”
Even when he’s not the best player on the floor regarding stats, he’s still impacting every facet of the game, which is why many view him as a guaranteed top-three pick next year.
Boozer’s presence has changed a lot for Duke and put them in a position to win a national title.
Relatively speaking, it’s still early, and Freshman of the Year voting often changes as the season goes on.
Right now, however, there shouldn’t be many questions about who the best freshman in the country has been. Darryn Peterson has been great (I think he might be the best college basketball player I’ve ever seen), but he’s hardly played, so the nod should go to Boozer unless something changes.