Duke's Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje Has Clear Case to Be Top Freshman in ACC

Duke has one of the more interesting rosters in college basketball next season compared to what it typically has. 

As we've talked about in the past, especially before the transfer portal era, Duke was typically a young team with a boatload of talented freshmen. Not that it's the wrong decision to do something like that still, but in this era of college basketball, guys definitely need to be older. Bringing in a 17-year-old, such as Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, compared to a 22-year-old or 23-year-old fifth-year senior, is night and day. 

However, as Duke has also shown throughout the past couple of years, it doesn't really matter how many young guys it has on the roster. 

With Duke's boatload of talent, guys like Boumtje Boumtje will compete at a ridiculously high level. Other freshmen will also get some interesting nods, though they might not be as talented as a guy like Boumtje Boumtje. 

One of those players is Cameron Williams, who is expected to come in and be one of the better freshmen in the country as well. 

He's a more interesting player than Boumtje Boumtje, though both recently received praise from CBS Sports, which noted they'll be the two best freshmen in the ACC.

“Duke has two of the best freshmen bigs in the sport on the roster in Boumtje Boumtje and Cameron Williams, the No. 4-ranked player in the 2026 recruiting cycle by 247Sports. Williams and Boumtje Boumtje will compete for the right to start next to veteran center Patrick Ngongba II in the frontcourt. 

“Boumtje Boumtje is an inside-out playmaker who can stretch the floor. Duke has had an embarrassment of riches in the frontcourt the last two seasons with Cameron Boozer and Cooper Flagg. Boumtje Boumtje will be the next great one, whom college basketball fans will get very familiar with over the next two seasons,” Cameron Salerno wrote.

If I had to pick who will be the better freshman, I'm going to say Boumtje Boumtje. 

Not that Williams doesn't have a boatload of talent to be the guy that Duke needs him to be, but the early look at what Boumtje Boumtje has been able to do has been absolutely ridiculous, and I'm very excited to see what he can do on a court.