No matter how anyone wants to put it right now, there hasn’t been a better player in college basketball than Duke’s Cameron Boozer.
I understand that Darryn Peterson hasn’t played a ton at Kansas, but he’s been just as good as any player in the country and, to me, has even been better than BYU’s AJ Dybantsa.
Regardless, that doesn’t always mean everything in the NBA landscape.
At the end of the day, while Boozer might be the favorite to win both National Freshman of the Year and National Player of the Year, that doesn’t guarantee he’ll be the first overall selection in the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft.
Kyle Boone of CBS Sports doesn’t think that will be the case, predicting Boozer to land at the third overall pick with the Indiana Pacers.
“No major conference player has scored more points this season thus far than Boozer. And it seems he's just getting started. The Duke rookie is averaging 23.6 points and 9.3 boards per game for a team that is 9-0 with three of those wins coming vs. ranked opponents. To say he'd be a huge prize if he falls to No. 3 would be an understatement. He's my No. 1-ranked player in the class,” he wrote.
Boozer going to the Pacers would likely benefit both sides.
Not only would he have an opportunity to come in and play right away, but Indiana is expected to be much better than it’s currently playing due to injuries it has faced on both sides of the ball.
A year ago, Indiana proved it was one of the better teams in the NBA, losing in seven games to the loaded Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals. With Tyrese Haliburton injured, a player they rely on heavily on the offensive side of the ball, and some key defensive losses, the Pacers’ struggles don’t come as much of a surprise.
When healthy, though, they should be more than fine and he’d only add to that.
We’ll see what happens over the next few months, but Boozer, as of now, has to be a top-three pick.