Cameron Boozer was at the this season.
The 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward proved tough enough to score through physical play. Rangy enough to space the floor and shoot from outside. Deft enough as a passer to find teammates, whether against constant double teams coming for him as the top name on every scouting report or while running the entire offense from up top.
鈥淵ou just want to affect winning in whatever way you can,鈥� Boozer said.
The high-end NBA prospect did that all season for a team that won 35 games, reached No. 1 in the , claimed the top overall seed for and reached the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight. Now he’s The Associated Press men鈥檚 college basketball national player of the year, only the fifth freshman to earn the honor and the second in a row for a Duke program that keeps adding to the longest list of winners in the country.
鈥淚t just goes to show more about what our team has done, just because I think that really helps awards like this, having great team success,鈥� Boozer told the AP. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really just not me.鈥�
Boozer, , received 59 of 61 votes from AP Top 25 voters in results released Friday. BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa, another potential top NBA pick, received the other two votes after averaging a national-best 25.5 points per game.
A short list
Boozer, son of Duke and longtime NBA player Carlos Boozer, ranked averaged 22.5 points (ninth in Division I) and 10.2 rebounds (12th) while finishing tied for the national lead with 22 double-doubles. He also averaged 4.1 assists while posting efficient shooting numbers at 55.6% overall and 39.1% from 3-point range.
He joins , another Duke player in , Kentucky鈥檚 Anthony Davis (2012) and Texas star Kevin Durant (2007) as freshmen to win the AP award. Each went No. 1 or No. 2 in the NBA draft that year.
鈥淚鈥檓 very grateful just that I鈥檓 even in those (NBA) conversations,鈥� Boozer said. 鈥淚 think a lot of people dream of being where I am. Sometimes you鈥檝e got to take a step back and just remember that once upon a time, you were a kid dreaming to be here. So I think it鈥檚 very special.鈥�
His coaches think the same of him.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been fortunate enough the last two years to have two of the best freshmen to ever play in college basketball back to back,鈥� Duke associate head coach and former Blue Devils player Chris Carrawell said. 鈥淎nd Cam is right up there.
Boozer is Duke’s ninth AP winner, each coming from a different player. UCLA is the next closest with five winners, though that included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1967 and 1969) and Bill Walton (1972 and 1973) as two-time selections.
UCLA, Ohio State and Duke rival North Carolina are the only other programs with as many as three different players to win the award.
Big-game successes
Boozer arrived at Duke alongside twin brother Cayden after the two led Miami’s Columbus High . By late February, the Blue Devils were starting a four-week reign that would carry to March Madness. Boozer 鈥� who said he looks at winning as a skill 鈥� routinely posted top performances in Duke’s biggest games, including during a rugged nonconference slate.
He matched a season high with 35 points in a November win . He followed with 29 points against defending national champion Florida. He also had big performances (18 points, 15 rebounds) and flirted with a triple-double (18 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists) .
Along the way, he pushed through bumps and shoves. He closed with 27 points and his right eye swollen from a first-half blow.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no agenda other than figuring out a way to win,鈥� Wolverines coach Dusty May said. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen him play a number of times this year where there鈥檚 six guys in the paint, and it鈥檚 not as if he鈥檚 jumping 40, 50 inches off the floor. His desire to rebound the ball, to set physical screens, to play to his advantages, is as impressive as any freshman that I can recall.鈥�
Managing pressure
The other challenge was managing the scrutiny that comes from expectations for greatness. A missed shot. A turnover. The 3-for-17 shooting in the ACC title game.
鈥淗e does a great job of flushing it and not letting it dwell on him too much,鈥� Cayden said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something he鈥檚 always been able to do since we were younger. Obviously I talk to him when he needs me to. And I sometimes just understood that, hey, he鈥檚 going through something, give him some space for a little bit and he鈥檒l figure it out.鈥�
Cameron said getting away for time alone and putting down the phone helps. He points to prayer and even a recent effort to read more.
The rest of the time, though, he’ll throw himself into becoming a better player. There’s comfort in that routine, the results yet to fail him.
鈥淚 think just being prepared alleviates pressure,” Cameron said. “Being ready for a game, watching film, working out, knowing you put your time in, being confident in yourself 鈥� I think all that takes away a lot of the pressure that people talk about. At the end of the day, pressure really is what you put on yourself.鈥�
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