With 13:58 remaining in the first half of the Blue Devils’ 80-79 win over Florida State, Duke freshman point guard Cayden Boozer just picked up his 2nd foul of the day. He was 1-4 from the floor, including 0-3 from three. He was rattled and Jon Scheyer knew it. Scheyer substituted Cayden out of the game and shortly afterward knelt beside him for a reassuring conversation.
“He just said it was going to be a great moment for me,” Boozer told Carolina Blitz after the game. “A big learning point for me. They did a defense on me that I haven’t really seen – not being guarded at all. That can mess with your mind a little but, if you let it.”
Boozer finished the game just 3-10 from the floor and 0-5 from three, but his offensive rebound and put-back with 1:01 remaining gave Duke the three-point cushion needed to squeak by with the 80-79 victory.
Friday was different.
From tipoff Cayden was on a mission – aggressively initiating the offense, driving to the basket and finishing at the rim. He hit his first two shots on the way to a career high 16 points on 6-12 from the floor, including 1-2 from three.
“I’m really proud of Cayden,” Scheyer said after the 73-61 win over Clemson. “Because yesterday was a different kind of game and to bounce back with the confidence and the control over the game, I just thought he made big plays. He’s grown so much.”
But Boozer’s bounce back game was no surprise to his teammates.
“Cayden is doing what we know he can do,” Isaiah Evans said. “Maybe everybody else outside the team might not know of his capabilities, but we know he can do that kind of stuff.”
“Keep doing what you’ve been doing all season,” Maliq Brown told us was the message from players to Cayden heading into the ACC Tournament semifinals. “Obviously, you wouldn’t be a Duke if you weren’t who you are. We trust you.”
With the injury to Caleb Foster, Cayden’s increased role and his inexperience at it, will undoubtedly be something opposing teams will look to exploit. The Seminoles had him rattled and Boozer knew he had to show the college basketball world something different against Clemson. But having something to prove is nothing new for the younger twin.
“I feel like I always have something to prove. When you’re at a place like Duke you want to be your best version, so you can win as many championships as you want. So I feel like I always have that competitive edge to me prove something.”
The Blue Devils will take on Virginia for the ACC Tournament championship, Saturday at 8:30pm.
