Duke basketball player Cameron Boozer embraces role on team
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Duke freshman Cameron Boozer could have been working on his jump shot, driving to the basket or working out in the weight room on a recent morning. Instead, he sat in a chair with a Durham elementary school student sitting in his lap and listened to her read a Dr. Seuss classic.
The 6-foot-7 forward has embraced his spot near the end of the bench for the fourth-ranked Blue Devils, throwing himself into his role as a practice player for a team filled with McDonald’s All-Americans and likely NBA draft picks.
After a stellar career at Lovett School in Atlanta, Boozer picked Duke not just because of its basketball program under Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski, but also because of the school’s renowned academics. And even as someone who spent his high school years dominating games, he knew that would mean adjusting to a new role.
“The way that I’m built, I see things a bit differently,” Boozer said. “I’m big on visualizing and seeing things before they happen. So adjusting to this role, I didn’t see myself getting minutes right away or anything like that. I knew it was going to be tough and I was just going to have to buy into everything. But yeah, it was tough.”
Boozer was a career 1,000-point scorer at Lovett, where he led his team to two Georgia state championships in four years. But at Duke, he has played a total of 22 minutes in 12 games while serving as a member of the scout team that simulates opponents’ offenses and defenses in practice.
Even those on the fringe appreciate Boozer’s willingness to embrace it.
“You really find out about your character and who you are as a player when you come in and you work and don’t play,” said teammate Cayden Boozer, a walk-on redshirt freshman forward. “I told him you can either cut corners and make the best out of your situation or, you know, grind and you’ll get the most out of it.”
Boozer found himself doing plenty of grinding away from the spotlight during the COVID-19 pandemic, whether putting in extra work at the gym, going through individual drills or adding muscle in the weight room.
His teammates noticed it. They rewarded him with about three minutes of court time — his longest appearance of the season — in a loss at Virginia Tech on Jan. 15.
“With COVID, I didn’t want to go home, for one,” Boozer said. “And, two, I knew that I had to keep my head down and just keep working. I knew that my chance would come at some point. Luckily the coaches saw that and put me in the game.”
Boozer isn’t sure if that will change in his remaining time at Duke. But one thing is certain: He’s ready when needed, whatever that need might be.