The 2025 Texas basketball team has a lot of potential this season, following the hiring of Sean Miller as its new head coach. The Longhorns have the resources to be a powerhouse in basketball, and they opened the year against Duke with a chance to prove it. The Longhorns competed, but the Blue Devils punched them in the mouth and pulled away in a big win in their home opener.
The spotlight was on Duke's freshmen class, particularly the Boozer twins, with Cameron Boozer taking most of the shine. The Longhorns held down Cameron Boozer in the first half, but he caught fire in the second half and took over the game. Sean Miller said that Boozer dominated and was a one-man wrecking crew down low, thanks to his rebounding ability.
Miller said, “He's a one-man wrecking crew. His ability to rebound the ball is incredible.”
Miller walked away extremely impressed, mainly because, given his talent, he had not yet met his potential.
“I think he's one of the best players in the country,” Miller said. “I'd have a hard time believing there's a freshman that is any better. … His ability to rebound is amazing. He had 12 defensive rebounds tonight. That's really difficult in a college game at 40 minutes to get 12 defensive rebounds.”
“And,” Miller added, “he might have had a subpar game for him.”
Duke coach Jon Scheyer challenged Cameron Boozer at halftime of the Blue Devils' season opener Tuesday night against Texas, bluntly telling Boozer that he was “playing soft.”
Boozer rallied to finish with 15 points and 13 rebounds and helped the sixth-ranked Blue Devils overcome a 33-32 halftime deficit to beat Texas 75-60 in the Dick Vitale Invitational at the Spectrum Center.
“I just tried to wash it off,” Boozer said of his disappointing first half, which included missing all seven shots from the field.
Miller did say he liked how the Texas basketball team bottled up Boozer in the first half.
However, he noted that Duke's ability to stretch the floor makes it tough to defend for 40 minutes.
“The way they play, they put tremendous pressure on the defense,” Miller said. “I think what you'll find is generally that second half against Duke is tough. Because it's just you can do it for a while, but it's like that running game in football and then that third and fourth quarter, it's like, man, they just beat you down.”
Boozer is a dominant player and has a chance to become a star in college basketball this year. He is already being compared to Kevin Love, and what we saw against Texas only reinforces that.
