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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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The Duke Blue Devils have emerged as favorites to win the NCAA Tournament, led by the outstanding contributions of Cameron Boozer, who many expect to become among the top NBA picks after his one season of college basketball.
His talents were recently on display in the Blue Devils' back-to-back wins, including a blowout of then-No. 11 Virginia and, more specifically, against North Carolina State on the road. Boozer finished Monday night’s 93-64 rout of the Wolfpack with an efficient 26 points on 8-for-10 shooting, while also grabbing nine boards and dishing out six assists.
Against the Cavaliers, he didn’t have his best shooting performance, but still did enough, as he scored 18 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists, a block, and a steal. Both wins helped Boozer and the No. 1-ranked Blue Devils build toward their more significant goals: dominating the ACC Tournament and then taking over March Madness to claim championships.
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On Wednesday evening, Duke men's basketball shared a powerful Instagram update highlighting Boozer's impressive contribution to the team this season, as he has a 135.5 adjusted offensive rating, the highest among players with 28.1 percent usage or better on a team.
In particular, they highlighted that over the last 30 seasons, he is the only Division I player to have recorded 650-plus points, 250-plus rebounds, 100-plus assists, and 50 percent or better field goal shooting in a single regular season.
They also mentioned that Boozer accounted for 26.1 percent of his team's points, rebounds, and assists last season, another impressive aspect of the freshman's quick ascension to college basketball stardom.
"best player in the nation's an understatement," a message below the slide said, which Boozer shared to his Instagram Story.
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The son of former NBA star Carlos Boozer, Cameron, is averaging 22.6 points with 58.3 percent field goal shooting, 10 rebounds, and four assists per game as a freshman for a Duke team that continues to look scary this March.
Boozer projects to be a top-three pick in NBA mock drafts, falling behind only Kansas’s Darryn Peterson and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, with all three first in the conversation to win Naismith Men's Player of the Year.
With that in mind, all three will also be vying with their respective teams to win the NCAA Tournament, with top-ranked Duke, led by Boozer, appearing to be the strongest of all contenders.
Read more: UConn’s Alex Karaban Gets Emotional Speech From Teammate After Win
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