Cameron Boozer has unfinished business.
Even with four consecutive Florida state high school boys’ basketball championships for Columbus (Miami), including this year’s victory over Windermere in the title game, the senior is seeking more.
After losing to Montverde (Florida) in the semifinals of last season’s national tournament, Boozer wants to close out his high school career with another championship.
“Once you get that close, you crave to get back. … The approach of our whole team coming (in)to season was to win, to defend and to play together,” Boozer said. “And I think right now we’re peaking going to nationals.”
Before that tournament begins April 2, Boozer, the son of former Duke and NBA star Carlos Boozer, was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year for the second time. He also won the award in 2023.
“It’s a blessing, first of all, to win,” Boozer said. “Not that many people have won two, so super thankful. Super thankful for everyone around me. Obviously, my coach (Columbus’ Andrew Moran) has been with me since I think eighth grade, so I’ve had a lot of great supporting casts around me, so I think it’s a blessing for sure.”
Boozer is the fourth two-time winner of the award, joining Greg Oden, LeBron James and Brandon Knight. Duke star freshman Cooper Flagg earned the honor last season.
Boozer, a projected top-five pick in the 2026 NBA draft if he decides to enter, and his fraternal twin brother, Cayden, will follow their dad and play for Duke next season.
“Carlos just texted me, I was sending him a bunch of photos of everything leading up to this and it’s just amazing to see where (Cameron’s) career has gone so far,” Love said. “I always say I’m (an) honorary Dukie for the 30-plus games I played with Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) over the course of USA basketball and (Duke coach) Jon (Scheyer) being a friend and somebody who I played against in high school as well, I’ll just be watching everything and then I’ll be seeing him at this level here pretty soon.”
The 6-9 Boozer averaged 22.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks this season and helped Columbus to a 27-3 record and a No. 1 ranking in the USA TODAY Super 25 Boys Basketball Poll. Boozer is the No. 2 player in USA TODAY’s list of top recruits, and Cayden is No. 20.
“I just love that Cam leans into the process. I love that he leans into being a great teammate and a great leader. And I think that’s a large portion of what the Gatorade national boys’ basketball player of the year is about,” Love said. “It’s not just what you do on the court, it’s what you do in the community, it’s what you do for your teammates, it’s what you do in the classroom.”
Boozer has a weighted 4.88 grade-point average, has played the cello for several years and performed with a local orchestra, volunteers at a church and serves as an algebra and geometry tutor.
After the national tournament and the McDonald’s All-American game April 1 (both Boozer brothers are playing in that, too), Cameron will finish high school and begin preparing for Duke.
“That’s why we went through the process and did all the steps, going on every visit and looking into each school thoroughly because the reality is you only get to go to college once and you really want to enjoy that experience while you’re there,” Cameron Boozer said. “And then also while you’re enjoying it, you also want to be in the right place to develop for the next level. And for us, Duke was the right place for that.”
(This story was updated with additional information.)