What makes Cameron Boozer unstoppable in his pursuit of championships - ESPN

Had Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg just seen a ghost?

His Wolverines — then the No. 1 team in the country — were used to overwhelming opponents on the glass and in the paint. Instead, they had just been outrebounded and outscored by Cameron Boozer and the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils, and Lendeborg couldn't find the words to describe the superstar freshman.

«Um… man… um,» Lendeborg hedged when asked about Boozer's play after the Feb. 21 game, shaking his head and trailing off.

Boozer has had that mystifying effect on every opponent he has faced when the stakes are high.

Clutch performances throughout the 2025-26 campaign have made him the clear favorite for national player of the year honors in a season that features arguably the most talented freshman class of the one-and-done era, not to mention multiple returning All-Americans. The gap between the 18-year-old and the country's other elite players was widened in the win over Michigan, thanks to his game-altering 3-pointer and the draw of a key goaltending call in the final minutes.

Lendeborg was not the first star Boozer humbled this season. He had 24 points and 23 rebounds against Tennessee's Nate Ament in a preseason win. Projected NBA draft lottery picks Darius Acuff Jr. and Thomas Haugh could only watch in awe as Boozer scored 64 points combined in wins over Arkansas and Florida, respectively. Boozer also bulldozed Jeremy Fears Jr. and Michigan State to the tune of 18 points and 15 rebounds. Meanwhile, the ACC is still trying to catch its breath from Boozer's spectacular efforts throughout conference play, with rival North Carolina up next in Saturday's regular-season finale (6:30 p.m. on ESPN) — a game that could seal Duke's bid for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA