Duke Blue Devils star Cameron Boozer offered some odd comments before facing the UConn Huskies in the Elite 8.
The Duke Blue Devils defeated the St. John's Red Storm in their Sweet 16 matchup on Friday night, outlasting them 80-75 behind 22 points from Carlos Boozer.
Boozer went just 7-of-16 from the floor, but he went 8-for-9 from the free-throw line and contributed 10 rebounds in a nailbiting win.
Now, Duke will move on to face the UConn Huskies in the Elite 8, but following the victory over St. John's, Boozer offered some rather strange comments.
“You can watch the media. Everyone wants us to lose," Boozer said. "We go into Siena halftime they’re talking about I hope Duke gets upset. We played TCU, they talking about, that’s a physical team we're going to get upset. Same thing with St. John’s. I think we just did a great job blocking out all the noise, focusing on what’s important.”
I don't think anyone would agree with Boozer that the media is against Duke. In fact, if anything, the media has been accused of Duke bias for years.
Perhaps a better statement would have been talking about fans of other teams rooting against the Blue Devils, which is entirely true.
Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer. Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images.There is no question that Duke is one of the most hated clubs in sports, and ironically enough, much of that is because of the media attention the Blue Devils receive.
As for Boozer? It was a gritty performance against a physical Red Storm squad, and one that surely caught the eye of NBA teams.
The freshman big man is widely viewed as a top-four pick in this year's NBA Draft, and some even feel he could be the No. 1 overall selection.
Boozer is averaging 22.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists over 33.4 minutes per game on 55.9/39.6/79.0 shooting splits this season.
The 18-year-old is unquestionably one of the most polished offensive players heading into this draft class, but many have questioned his defensive acumen and whether or not he will be able to adjust to the modern NBA landscape.
For now, though, Boozer is focused on UConn. Duke last saw the Huskies in the NCAA Tournament back in 2004, when UConn bested the Blue Devils in the Final Four. The Huskies also defeated Duke in the 1999 National Championship Game.
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