Led by freshman Cam Boozer, Duke Basketball is ready for another Final Four run, and maybe even a national championship.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Duke basketball.
With 2:15 in the final four, Duke led by nine. It looked like in year three under Scheyer, they were going to make it to the National Championship game and face Florida. However, they completely melted down, blowing the lead and suffering a Final Four loss.
Cooper Flagg, the national player of the year, is gone, as well as several of those other stars like Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor. However, they return several key players and bring in several more for a team looking to replicate their 35-4 and 19-1 record from last year.
Cameron Boozer is the player to watch. The #3 overall recruit and son of Carlos Boozer, is one of the most decorated high school players of all time and has looked the part in the exhibition games. He’ll be joined by his brother, Cayden, a top 25 recruit.
Dame Sarr was a late pickup, but a big one after Cedric Coward opted for the NBA Draft instead of transferring to Duke. Sarr is a potential first-round pick and has a ton of upside on both ends of the floor. You can’t forget about Nikolas Khamenia, yet another five-star freshman this team has. Duke basketball had the #1 overall class for a reason.
This isn’t just a freshman team, though. They return Isaiah Evans, who showed flashes last year as a freshman for this team, and Caleb Foster, who enters his third year with the program.
This team has what it takes to win a championship. The lack of experience is a little concerning, but we saw last year what Jon Scheyer and co. can do with elite freshmen talent.
Head coach:Â Jon Scheyer (4th season overall, all at Duke)
2024-25 record: 35-4 (19-1)
2025 postseason finish:Â Lost to Houston (70-67) in Final Four of NCAA Tournament
Notable departures:Â
- Cooper Flagg (19.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.2 APG)
- Kon Knueppel (14.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.7 APG)
- Tyrese Proctor (12.4 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.2 APG)
- Sion James (8.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.9 APG)
- Khaman Maluach (8.6 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 0.5 APG)
Notable non-conference games:Â
- vs. Texas (Nov. 4) – Charlotte, N.C.
- vs. Kansas (Nov. 18) – Madison Square Garden
- Arkansas (Nov. 27) – Chicago, IL
- vs. Florida (Dec. 2)
- at Michigan State (Dec. 6)
- vs. Texas Tech (Dec. 20) – Madison Square Garden
- vs. Michigan (Feb. 21) – Washington, D.C.
Projected Rotation
PG: Caleb Foster (6-5, 205, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 4.9 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.6 SPG, 41.7 FG%, 34.2 3P%, 62.9 FT%
SG: Isaiah Evans (6-6, 180, So.)
2024-25 stats: 6.8 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 0.5 APG, 43.2 FG%, 41.6 3P%, 81.3 FT%
SF: Dame Sarr (6-8, 190, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #32-ranked recruit – from Italy
PF: Cameron Boozer (6-9, 250, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #3-ranked recruit
C: Patrick Ngongba (6-11, 250, So.)
2024-25 stats: 3.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 0.8 APG, 71.9 FG%, 72.7 FT%
6: Cayden Boozer (6-4, 205, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #20-ranked recruit
7: Maliq Brown (6-9, 225, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 2.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 65.9 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 37.5 FT%
8: Nikolas Khamenia (6-8, 215, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #19-ranked recruit
9:Â Sebastian Wilkins (6-8, 220, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #35-ranked recruit
10: Darren Harris (6-5, 195, So.)
2024-25 stats: 2.0 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 0.3 APG, 6 MPG
Duke Basketball team MVP: Cameron Boozer
Cameron Boozer played against Tennessee in an exhibition game. In that game, he had 24 points, 23 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. Tennessee is a team we have 17 on CBB Rank, and while it’s just an exhibition game, you have to be extremely impressed that a freshman was able to put up numbers like that.
At 6-foot-9, he is able to space the floor, but also put his back to the basket and score on defenders. He’s also an impressive passer for his size, as we saw in the exhibition game. He’s going to be a defensive nightmare for any team with his offensive talent and will open the offense for the rest of the team. He will absolutely be in player of the year conversations, and perhaps the first pick in next year’s draft.
Duke Basketball make-or-break player: Isaiah Evans
Isaiah Evans piqued the interest of a lot of folks when he hit six threes on eight attempts and was the key reason why Duke beat #1 Auburn in late November. From then on, he saw his minutes dwindle, at one point, playing a combined 15 minutes in a three-game stretch in late January. Toward the end of the season, though, he started getting more minutes and took advantage, scoring 16+ in four straight games.
While his shooting was great, he was a huge defensive liability, and that’s why he only got 18 total minutes in the round of 32-Final Four. He decided to stay at Duke for year two instead of entering the NBA Draft, and with his return, he should expect extended minutes. As mentioned, he’s an unbelievable three-point shooter, and he can hit five threes with ease.
The problem is the defense. If he can step up and show that he improved defensively this offseason, he can log big minutes and make this Duke basketball team even more dangerous. If not, though, then he could see his minutes dwindle, and Duke loses a huge asset on the offensive end.
Key analytic: Average Scoring Margin
Duke didn’t just beat teams last year; they blew them out of the water. Duke’s average margin of victory the WHOLE SEASON was 20.5 PPG. That’s 4 PPG higher than Gonzaga, which finished second in that category. Sure, the ACC had a down year, but having an average margin of victory of 20 for a whole season is truly insane and shows just how good last year’s team was.
At home, that number increased to 26.4 PPG. Truly insane. This team might not do that, but don’t expect Scheyer to take his foot off the gas when they go up.
Duke Basketball 2025-26 projections
Projected conference finish:Â 1st in the ACC
Projected postseason ceiling:Â NCAA Tournament National Champions