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Cayden and Cameron Boozer Q&A: ‘These memories are gonna last a lifetime. You don’t wanna ruin them looking at the future’

Cayden and Cameron Boozer, twin sons of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, are set to make their highly anticipated college debut at Duke this fall. The South Florida natives, both top recruits in the 2025 class, were at the Nike Hoop Summit last month to showcase their games with the other top high school and international prospects across the globe in Portland, Oregon.

Cayden, a stoic playmaking floor general, emphasized his court vision and film study habits while Cameron, a versatile forward who models his game after Jayson Tatum and Paolo Banchero, talked about embracing the modern game while staying grounded in lessons from their father.

In a conversation with HoopsHype, the twins opened up about staying in the moment, handling adversity, becoming the next great Duke duo, and more.

Cayden Boozer: I mean, it’s great. Having someone that you can trust no matter what is really good being within these experiences, because, I mean, the adversity of all these camps is pretty difficult. So having somebody you can always know you can talk to and just trust on the court, it makes the game a lot easier.

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Cayden: I mean, definitely, because I was always smaller than him when I was younger. I was actually just really small in general until sixth grade – I had a seven-inch growth spurt. I went from 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-10, and then I started growing after that. But we always knew we had different play styles and we knew how to play with each other because our play styles were so different. Since our play styles weren’t super similar, it didn’t affect the other players. So it made the game a lot easier.

Cayden: Jamal Murray, Shai, Jalen Brunson, Devin Booker – just the best guards. I’m just trying to steal from everyone, even Jrue Holiday, a really good defender. Just trying to steal from everyone a little bit, but be the best version of myself. At the end of the day, I wanna be the first Cayden Boozer, not the upcoming of somebody else. So just trying to steal from all the greats.

Cayden:  I’ve always been a point guard where I’m making reads for my teammates. Obviously, as I’m getting older, I’m gonna be playing with a lot of good players in the league. If I’m playing with a star, I’m gonna have to be able to catch-and-shoot and play around those guys. So I’m trying to do both, but I’ve always played on ball. Whatever the team needs me to do, I’m happy to do.

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Cayden:  Just how I control the game. It’s a skill to control the game. A lot of point guards, especially when they’re young, have a lot of turnovers. I feel like my whole high school career, I really haven’t had that many turnovers. And my assist-to-turnover ratio has been really high. So I feel like that’s something that’s been underrated for me.

Cayden: It took time. It took time. I mean, sophomore year I had a game against Imhotep (HS) where I’ve had to go through those struggles. And obviously being a point guard at this level, it’s hard. There are a lot of other good guards that you’re trying to compete with and just try to separate yourself from them. So I knew I was a really good passer, so I had to be smart with my passes and try to help my teammates win no matter what. It was a process for sure. But when you’re watching film and you’re playing these games, you’re getting those game reps, you’re gonna get better at it. You’re gonna be able to just read the game a lot easier.

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Cayden:  It’s definitely easier. We’re super honest with each other and we keep each other in check. We don’t want either of us to get complacent because it’s just the beginning of our journey. Obviously, we’ve had a great high school resume, but it’s gonna change at the college level. We’re gonna have to start over again, and the NBA is gonna start over again. So we gotta keep each other in place and make sure we don’t get complacent.

Cayden:  I mean, just to stay in the moment. Your whole life you’re looking forward to what’s gonna happen next. But when you’re staying in the moment, you’re gonna cherish it and you’re gonna have the best in the present. And obviously, your future’s gonna be great when you get there. But just stay in the moment – these memories are gonna last a lifetime. You don’t wanna ruin them looking at the future. So just stay in the moment. I had a really bad game with too many turnovers.

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Cayden:  I’ve talked to players like Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Immanuel Quickley – just guards that are there. And the main thing is just to keep working. A lot of guys like the lifestyle of it, but they don’t understand that you have to keep working when you get there to stay there. So just to keep working and stay in the moment.

Cayden:  I mean, obviously we had a really heartbreaking loss in the Final Four. But the expectation for any Duke team is to win a national championship. I feel like with the team that we have, and hopefully we’ll see who’s coming back and who we’re gonna transfer for, but I feel like we’re gonna have a really good shot to win a national championship. And that’s the standard. We wouldn’t want anything else besides that. So the goal is to win a national championship.

Cayden:  I mean, we all know that Duke’s really hated by most schools. So I mean, I’m fine playing the villain role. We wanna win at Duke. So if that means we’re gonna be villains, then that means we’re gonna be villains.

Cayden:  Obviously we’ve won a lot in high school. So some people might not want us to win. But I mean, it’s probably gonna be a lot bigger at that stage because it’s the biggest stage in college basketball. So I’m sure it’s gonna be a different type of adversity, but I’m excited for it. I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a little kid. So I’m looking forward to it.

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Cameron Boozer:  Yeah, it’s amazing to be able to be here with the top 12 guys in the country. It’s a great feeling – compete with some of the best players and play some of the best international players. It’s gonna be a good test for us and we’re gonna get after it.

Cameron:  I mean, it’s special to go through it with someone you’re so close to, have someone by your side. It helps a little bit as well and I think it makes it more enjoyable at the same time.

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Cameron:  It’s amazing to go to college with someone I’m so close to, that’s my brother. We lived together and everything, did everything together our whole life. So our goal is just to go there, to compete, and win a national championship.

Cameron:  I mean, I’m just trying to be the best version of me, honestly.

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Cameron:  I see myself as someone who can do it all. Whatever you need me to do on the court, I can do.

Cameron:  A lot of Tatum, Paolo, even some guys like Giannis – bigger wings.

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Cameron:  For sure.

Cameron:  I mean, I guess you could say that. I think mostly what I get from it is just learning the experience and what it takes to be a pro.

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Cameron:  To stay in the moment, to work hard, and just have the right mindset.

Cameron:  Of course it was tough. I had a lot of great schools, a lot of great coaching staff as well. So of course it was a tough decision for me. But ultimately, Duke was the right decision for me going to the next stage of my career.

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Cameron:  Yeah, of course, we’re excited. I mean, big shoes to fill, but we’re not worried. We know the kind of guys that we’re bringing in, and we know the kind of competitive spirit we have. I think we’re gonna be great next year.

And what’s your expectation then – national championship this season?

Cameron: Yeah

Cameron:  I don’t think so. I’d say probably the Thompson twins, just because they’re from South Florida like we are, and they’re doing a lot of great things as well.

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Cameron:  I mean, I’m not sure what he did, but that was definitely funny.

He doesn’t talk to you about it?

Cameron I mean, we still get it on my feed. We’ve talked about it before, but it’s funny.

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