Duke Basketball Recruting: Blue Devils Land Passing Star Cayden Boozer

Cayden Boozer announced his commitment to Duke on Friday alongside his brother Cameron. The five-star prospect is one of the 2025 class’s premier guard talents. Carlos Boozer’s son has won at every level so far at his career and will hope to carry that success to the college level. Cayden and Cameron are the first of what should end up being a stacked recruiting class for Jon Scheyer.

This past EYBL season playing with Nightrydas Elite, Boozer averaged 10.5 points, 6.5 assists and 3.6 boards per game on 55.2% true shooting, per Synergy. The 6’4 point guard doesn’t demand shots, winning as a playmaker, defender and timely scorer.

Boozer is one of the country’s best playmakers, evidenced by his assist numbers an excellent assist to turnover ratio (2.98). Few point guards command the ball like Boozer can, especially in transition. Boozer threads bounce passes and fires outlets as an open floor passer, fueling Nightrydas’ transition attack.

cayden boozer makes excellent decisions with the ball (2.98 a:to in eybl) with some impressive flashes of vision off of his drives. such a sick playmaker pic.twitter.com/gl3gJtOLqq

— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) October 12, 2024

He’ll make every pick and roll read, passing to the roller and skipping out to the corner. With excellent vision, Boozer can twist in air and remain calm in traffic before whipping the ball out to his teammates. Boozer’s pick and roll efficiency including passes (1.021 points per possession) placed in the 90th percentile among all EYBL players this season. 

Despite his passing aptitude, Boozer isn’t a dynamic advantage creator. He struggles to create separation against higher level defenders without an elite first step or dynamic handle. That limits his ability to create passing angles and force rotations at times when defenses force Boozer to score.

Only 21% of Boozer’s half-court shots came at the rim, finishing 64% of them. Nightrydas’ offensive scheme generates easy looks for Boozer via off-ball motion, but his vertical limitations arise more when he’s creating off of the dribble to the rim for himself. If Boozer ends up as a long-term lead guard, he’ll need to improve as a downhill advantage creator.

Shooting will be the major swing skill for Boozer’s success as an on-ball option at the next levels. This past EYBL season, Boozer shot just 27.3% (12/44) on his threes. The low volume provides more concern than his percentages. Shooting volume and confidence are critical indicators of future shooting growth and Boozer shot under two threes per game. At times, Boozer will pass up open jumpers in favor of passes or resetting the offense, limiting offensive flow.

He’s shown the ability to space the floor efficiently before, as Boozer’s three-point percentages were higher his past high school season with Columbus. It’s still somewhat difficult to trust his 41.3% shooting on catch-and-shoot triples during that high school sample given the low volume. He’s been an effective off-dribble shooter from the mid-range, though, providing some upside for his pull-up projection.

Boozer’s interior touch and free-throw success — he shot 80% from the line across his last EYBL and high school season — provide some upside long-term. But Boozer’s shooting threat, forcing defenses to play over screens and close out hard, will be critical to monitor.

Even when Cayden Boozer’s offense isn’t clicking, he’ll compete hard and make defensive plays. Averaging just over a steal per game, Boozer generates turnovers in myriad ways. Boozer sits in passing lanes to jump errant balls and digs out loose handles from the nail. When Boozer defends the ball, he’ll rip ballhandlers and slide his feet quickly and smoothly.

cayden boozer creates turnovers with his elite hands quickness/placement and instincts both on and off of the ball. such a versatile defensive piece pic.twitter.com/A3BqLEhzjr

— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) October 12, 2024

At 6’4, Boozer adds value as an interior defender as all elite guard defenders do in the modern game. He’s not a shot blocker but Boozer will rotate hard and contest vertically, altering and deterring shots. Few 17-year-old defenders can read the game and position themselves to disrupt rim attempts like Boozer can. 

Boozer wins basketball games at every level. He and his twin brother won Peach Jam on the EYBL circuit at the 15u, 16u and 17u levels. He captains one of the country’s best high school teams and contributes to winning at the international level. Though some of this may be luck, Cayden Boozer’s skillset contributes to winning basketball.

Those winning traits should translate to the college level. Boozer won’t stop playing hard on both ends, making smart decisions and scoring enough to balance his playmaking. He’s accustomed to a lower usage, complementary role, playing with other high-level talents throughout his high school career. He’ll play with elite players, including Cameron Boozer, at Duke, adapting to team basketball more smoothly than most teenagers can.

There’s a world where Boozer plays himself into the draft conversation after one year. If his shooting and on-ball creation progress, it’s easy to imagine him as an effective complementary guard at the NBA level. If he can’t reach those heights, Boozer should develop into a star guard at the college level with his two-way impact at Duke for years to come.