Charles Barkley and Clark Kellogg of CBS went so far as to declare this freshman class the greatest in the history of the sport prior to the start of the 2026 NCAA Tournament’s opening round. A unanimous first-team All-American and the National Player of the Year, Cameron Boozer, a freshman at Duke, has been the best in that class.
However, Boozer is not expected to be selected first in this summer’s NBA Draft. Although he is ranked as the top prospect by FanSided’s Christopher Kline, Boozer was selected third overall in his pre-March Madness mock draft, behind Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson and BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa.
Duke’s first-round scare against Siena, a 71-65 Blue Devils victory after falling behind by double digits in the first half, was a clear example of the warning signs that will damage Boozer’s draft prospects. Duke was in grave danger of becoming the third No. 1 seed to lose to a 16-seed in NCAA Tournament history if Siena hadn’t ran out of steam.
Cameron Boozer’s defensive limitations are a legitimate NBA draft concern
Let’s get started. One of the most polished and adaptable offensive players to join the NBA in recent years is Cameron Boozer; this is even more true if you exclude freshmen from college. He can score at all three levels and quickly adapt to any offensive environment, making him a full-fledged offensive hub. He averaged 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists as a result.
Boozer can play all five positions on the offensive end, from a supersized point guard to an undersized stretch five. However, he is limited defensively at 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, primarily due to his inability to protect the rim as a center. Without Patrick Ngongba, Duke’s starting center, in the lineup due to an injury that held him out of the ACC Tournament, Siena outscored Duke in the paint and shot 8–9 at the rim in the first half on Thursday.
Boozer frequently stays on his feet and forces opponents to shoot over his arms rather than risking foul trouble because he lacks the vertical explosiveness to challenge attempts at the rim. It demonstrates a thorough awareness of his limitations, which is essential for NBA success, but it’s still a constraint.
He’s not a five, but he’s also not a three. Boozer cannot reliably guard wings on the perimeter because he is too heavy and slow. His opponents can still stop and pull up to shoot over the top, as many of his toughest opponents have done, but he uses his power exceptionally well to wall off against drives, dropping his weight like an offensive tackle to stonewall their momentum just short of the basket.
Boozer is a very contextual player in the NBA because of his defensive skill set, which is highly compartmentalized. Duke’s defensive statistics have been outstanding this year, and he is good while defending in the post. This summer, the team that drafts him will have to construct a squad around his limitations, which is acceptable for underperforming teams but not a factor with Dybantsa or Peterson. It’s also why Ngongba’s return is crucial for Duke to advance to the Final Four.
Boozer needs a rim protector like Ngongba to account for his flaws
When healthy, Ngongba is the perfect rim protection partner for Boozer, enabling Ngongba to clean up behind him as Boozer walls up against drivers. Even though ACC defensive player of the year Maliq Brown filled the majority of Ngongba’s missed minutes, Siena head coach Gerry McNamara purposefully attacked Boozer at the rim without him, forcing Duke to spend a large portion of the second half in a zone to make up for its lack of rim protection.
Duke should be fine against TCU on Saturday and beyond if Ngongba returns. However, NBA teams will probably consider Thursday’s poor performance when assessing the top picks this summer, and it may be a major factor in Boozer’s failure to be selected first overall.
