The Duke basketball program is still trying to figure out exactly what happened in their shocking Elite Eight loss to the UConn Huskies last week. In that game, Duke controlled things for virtually the entirety of the game before a late collapse opened the door for a game-winner from UConn with under a second to go.
Now, Duke power forward Cameron Boozer is expected to turn his attention to the NBA Draft, where he is among the candidates to be selected with the number one overall pick. Still, he understandably has a bitter taste in his mouth as he watches the rest of the college basketball season play out.
“It’s definitely unpleasant. I feel like we should’ve been here and we’d be playing tomorrow night,” said Boozer, when accepting his Naismith Player of the Year Award in Indianapolis, per Brian Rauf of Basket Under Review on X, formerly Twitter.
On Saturday evening, the Huskies punched their ticket to the national championship game with a comfortable win over Illinois in the Final Four, setting up a matchup against Michigan on Monday night, after the Wolverines demolished the Arizona Wildcats in their own Final Four game.
Meanwhile, Boozer was forced to be in Indianapolis on the scene of the Final Four in order to accept his award, becoming the second straight Duke freshman to take home the honor after Cooper Flagg last year.
In any case, the NBA Draft is slated to take place in late June, and although he hasn't yet officially declared, Boozer is expected to be in consideration for the top pick, along with AJ Dybantsa of BYU and Darryn Peterson of Kansas.
