Cam Boozer and the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils faced off against the No. 18 Tennessee Volunteers in an exhibition game on Sunday. The former five-star standout perfectly proved his talent by leading Duke to an 83-76 win in front of a sold-out crowd of 21,678.
As the son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, Cam continues to prove his phenomenal potential to reinforce his caliber as a top contender for the No. 1 draft pick. His performance is also generating rising expectations and drawing comparisons to some of basketball’s greats.
Which Historic Player Comes to Mind in Comparison to Cam Boozer’s Sunday Game?
In his Monday podcast, CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein drew comparisons between Boozer and one of the UCLA Bruins’ elite.
“Cam Boozer, who is rebounding the ball right now as a freshman, comparable to a level that Kevin Love rebounded the ball against UCLA,” Rothstein said. “24 points and 23 rebounds Sunday night against Tennessee. 33 and 12 last week against UCF. So Cam Boozer has a combined 35 rebounds in his first two exhibition games.”
“He right away becomes a name to watch as somebody who could lead college basketball in rebounding this season.”
Cam Boozer looks like he may be on track to have a “Kevin Love type” of freshman season for Duke.
🎧 https://t.co/c9JLel3odd (Apple)
🎧 https://t.co/EsZxIkcHSA (Spotify) pic.twitter.com/PIR4ruXtE5— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 27, 2025
In Sunday’s game, Boozer first completed a three-point play to bring Duke within five, 27-22, giving him seven points with six minutes remaining in the first half. He later notched a double-double before halftime with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Boozer closed the game with 24 points, 23 rebounds, and a team-high six assists, and some even started comparing him to Duke great Cooper Flagg. Flagg was a once-in-a-generation talent who became the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft following a magnificent one-year stint at Duke.
Players of Flagg’s caliber may not appear again for a long time, but Rothstein made his case for Boozer.
“Cam Boozer is not Cooper Flag, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not going to be one of the best players in college basketball,” Rothstein said. “And I know it’s just an exhibition game or two, but he is rebounding the ball again. I’ll say it similarly from my vantage point to the way that Kevin Love rebounded the ball when he was at UCLA in the 2007-08 season.”
In 2007-08, Love led the Bruins to the regular season Pac-10 championship, earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and reached the Final Four. He was later drafted as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.
As for Boozer, he doesn’t need to be Flagg or Love. He just needs to be himself, as Duke will open the regular season on Nov. 4 against Texas in the Dick Vitale Invitational at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
