ACC play is now in full swing, and on Tuesday night, two of the conference’s top teams squared off. Duke would beat Louisville 84-73, with Cardinals head coach Pat Kelsey praising star Cam Boozer as a potential first overall pick in the next NBA Draft.
Kelsey was not directly asked about Boozer following the game. Instead, he was asked about their pick-and-roll coverage. It was that question that prompted him to praise the Blue Devils’ top player.
“We probably should’ve changed our coverage more,” Pat Kelsey said. “We didn’t execute the one we were in very well. They were doing a good job of running out with No. 3 [Isaiah Evans] into guard pick and rolls. With 12 [Cameron Boozer] setting pick and rolls, he’s obviously going to be the No. 1 pick in the draft for a reason. He leads them in scoring, rebounding, assists, and even steals — terrific passer, pick and roll.”
Boozer finished the win over Louisville with 27 points and eight rebounds. That was in 39 minutes of action. It was also his eighth time this season scoring at least 25 points in a game, with Boozer now averaging 23.3 points per game. He also has seven double-doubles.
A five-star recruit in the Class of 2025, Boozer was the third-ranked prospect overall in that recruiting cycle. Now, through the first 15 games of his career, he’s become a star. Boozer averages 23.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. He’s shooting 58 percent from the field. Then, on the defensive end, he is putting up 1.9 steals and 0.7 blocks per game.
Still, for Pat Kelsey, Louisville had team issues on the defensive side of the ball against Duke. Three Blue Devils scored better than 20 points in the game, after all. So, there’s plenty to clean up. It wasn’t just a star who beat them.
“And then when we started getting aggressive with it toward the end of the game,” Kelsey said. “They were able to get it out of the ball screen, got in the paint, played a little two-man game. We needed to do a better job with that. And then we got to guard without fouling, there was just too many times in the second half where there were just unintelligent fouls that we keep on working on cleaning up and we have to continue to do so.”
Duke will now turn its attention to SMU, which should prove to be an interesting test at home. Louisville, meanwhile, is hoping to bounce back against Boston College on Saturday. These two teams are also set to meet again on January 26th.