The Cameron Indoor lights have shined on many greats, but now they turn toward the son of a Blue Devil legend — and the pressure is enormous. Fans see him as the next Cooper Flagg. The media weighs him against his father, Carlos Boozer. But Jon Scheyer isn’t interested in recycled narratives. Instead, the Duke head coach offers a refreshing and electrifying comparison: Paolo Banchero. To Scheyer, Cameron Boozer is not just another heir to the Duke throne — he’s a powerhouse in the making, a player with the frame of a giant and the skills of a guard, ready to carve out his own unforgettable path in Durham.
It won’t take long for Cameron Boozer to carve out an identity of his own.
Cooper Flagg had an epic freshman year for Duke and went on to become the #1 pick in the NBA Draft this past June.
Cameron Boozer is now on campus and naturally draws some comparisons to his illustrious predecessor, at least among fans and the media.
That’s not the case for Duke coach Jon Scheyer though, who draws a more interesting comparison: former Blue Devil and current Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero.
This is what he told Jon Rothstein on the “Inside College Basketball” podcast: “He’s like Paolo from a body perspective. There’s differences in their game for sure, but Paolo when he stepped on the floor he always knocked people back with how big he was. I think Cam has the ability to do the same thing. He’s always been the biggest guy on the floor and now he gets a chance to play with Pat (Ngongba) and Maliq (Brown) where he’s not going to be the biggest guy. I think that’s a huge advantage for him, using his size and then having the ball skills of a guard.”
It’s an interesting observation. First, it helps to remove the immediate pressure off of Boozer as he theoretically tries to replace Flagg. Both are unique talents.
And while Banchero is also an imposing force who has made a deep impression as he heads into his fourth NBA season, he’s also a unique talent.
As is Boozer.
We’re sure that Scheyer is explaining to his young star that not only can he not be Flagg or Banchero, but he doesn’t need to try be them or anyone else. He has enough game to blaze his own trail.
He’s also in somewhat of an unusual situation because unlike those two, he’s also going to be compared to his father Carlos, who had a tremendous Duke career at the beginning of the century.
However, Boozer is clearly a different sort of player than his father, too.
There will probably be a few weeks in the beginning of the season where we’ll see media types trying to pigeon hole him first into the Flagg shoebox, then claim that he’s like his dad and also his guard skills mean he’s like Banchero.
It’s a somewhat strange situation, but Scheyer is smart enough to know that the younger Boozer shouldn’t be pinned in by expectations, and having grown up his father’s son, Cameron probably figured this all out some time ago on his own.
