Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje is Clearly Duke's Most Interesting Player to Watch

Duke's basketball season will start on Monday night in a game it has absolutely no business even messing around in, taking on an Army squad that is decent but has no chance of competing with the Blue Devils if Duke does what's needed on both sides of the basketball.

We're going to see a lot of big-time talent for Duke this season, as one could strongly argue that this is the most talented team that head coach Jon Scheyer has ever had throughout his career. All he's done as a head coach at Duke is win at a high level, and this team is going to give him a real opportunity to win his first national championship as a head coach.

Among the most interesting players of the bunch, Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje is at the top of that list. 

The young man, who grew up in America and ended up moving to Spain when he was just 14 years old, finds himself in a position to be the number one pick in the 2028 NBA Draft. 

Because of his age, JBB can't technically enter this year's draft. That's unfortunate for him, but even better news for Duke. 

Regarding how people feel about him entering the season, there's a reason why he's among the most interesting players in all of college basketball to watch. The Athletic recently suggested that he's going to be among the top storylines to watch, joking that Scheyer finally got a superstar after all these years.

“Can’t argue with the majority opinion of our staff, and after getting a glimpse of Boumtje Boumtje in the preseason, get ready for “JBB” to become a frequently used initialism among college hoops fans in the next couple of seasons. The 7-foot-2, 250-pound son of former Georgetown and Cameroon national team player Ruben Boumtje Boumtje, JBB is projected by some as the No. 1 NBA pick … in 2028, when he’s first eligible. Finally, Jon Scheyer gets some talent,” Joe Rexrode of The Athletic wrote.

The one question for Duke is whether he can eventually be a guy like Cooper Flagg or Cameron Boozer. As I've continued to say, I think it's a bit unfair to put those marks on a 17-year-old, but it is important to recognize that Flagg was doing what he did at 17 years old. 

Flagg is also showing us in the NBA right now that he might be one of the best players in the world, if not a top-five to 10 player already, so I think it would be crazy to put any of those expectations on any young player. Regardless, Boumtje Boumtje is going to be very fun to watch this season, and that leads to a lot of excitement in Durham.