Arizona forward Koa Peat was incredible Monday, getting 30 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in a season-opening win over Florida. On the same night, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson scored 21 points in a blowout of Green Bay. BYU wing AJ Dybantsa also got 21 in a victory over Villanova.
So, yeah, this heralded freshman class got off to a great start. And, on Tuesday, all eyes turned to Duke forward Cameron Boozer, the two-time Gatorade National Player of the Year who was making his college-debut against Texas in the Dick Vitale Invitational in Charlotte.
Believe it or not, Boozer missed his first seven shots.
Seven!
Tracking college basketball freshman debuts: Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa impress, Koa Peat explodes
Cameron Salerno
He missed multiple 3-pointers. He missed multiple shots at the rim. His zero-point performance in the opening 20 minutes had Duke behind at halftime. But, and this is a testament to his overwhelming talent, Boozer still finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, two assists and one block in 36 minutes of the Blue Devils’ 75-60 win over Texas that doubled as fourth-year coach Jon Scheyer’s 90th career victory.
“It was obviously a tough first half; I think my teammates did a great job picking me up,” Boozer said afterward. Scheyer challenged me at halftime, said that I played soft in the first half, which, you know, was true. It was true. Second half, like you said, had to change my mentality. Teammates did a great job finding me. We were the tougher team in the…
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