Cameron Boozer came out of Duke’s loss to Connecticut in the Elite Eight with an injury to his eye.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday after being named the 2026 Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year winner, Boozer explained he is recovering from “a couple of fractures” on his left orbital bone.
Boozer added that he has opted to forego surgery.
The game between Duke and UConn was extremely physical on both sides. Boozer at one point was seen on the sidelines getting a cold soda can pressed against his orbital bone in an attempt to keep the swelling down.
It’s unclear exactly when Boozer got struck in the face, but it didn’t seem to impact his performance. The freshman star played 39 out of 40 minutes, finishing with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting.
Duke wound up losing 73-72 on Braylon Mullins’ go-ahead three with 0.4 seconds remaining. The Blue Devils became the first No. 1 seed in tournament history to lose a game after leading by at least 15 points at halftime.
B/R’s Jonathan Wasserman is currently projecting Boozer, who has not yet officially announce he’s leaving school. to be the No. 3 pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
Boozer has won virtually every major individual honor given out so far for the 2025-26 season, including the Associated Press and Naismith awards. He is a finalist for the Wooden Award that will be given out on April 10.
There’s no indication at this point how long Boozer’s recovery is going to take. The NBA draft lottery will take place on May 10, with the scouting combine running from May 10-17.
The NBA has not announced an official date for the 2026 draft, but the event historically takes place in late June.