Cameron Boozer Was the Best Freshman in America, But Now He's Got Company at the Top of the Draft
Duke's Cameron Boozer had one of the most dominant freshman seasons college basketball has ever seen. The 6'9" forward dropped 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game on ridiculous efficiency, hitting 55.6% from the field and 39.1% from deep. He also chipped in 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals a night and racked up 22 double-doubles along the way. Awards? He grabbed both ACC Player of the Year and National Player of the Year. The guy was basically unguardable.
For months, the draft pecking order looked locked in stone. BYU's AJ Dybantsa was 1, Kansas' Darryn Peterson was 2, and Boozer was a runaway third. Nobody was really arguing the order. Even though Boozer put together one of the most productive rookie campaigns in recent memory, he couldn't climb over the top two guys. But he was practically a unanimous third overall prospect heading into the tournament stretch.
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Then North Carolina's Caleb Wilson entered the chat. Over the last several weeks, the Tar Heels' 6'10" freshman has been generating serious buzz as a guy who might actually jump Boozer in the draft order. Wilson is now the consensus fourth prospect, sitting right on Boozer's heels, and scouts are getting real about his ceiling. The thing is, Boozer might be the safest pick in this draft class with the highest floor, but Wilson? He might have the highest ceiling of anybody in the entire 2026 class.
Wilson averaged 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.5 steals per night on 57.8% shooting from the field for the Tar Heels. He's an absolute athlete at 6'10" who can score a million different ways, protect the paint, rebound at an elite level, and actually run some offense from the high post. The guy does everything. He did go down with an injury, which is obviously a question mark teams will have to think through.
Boozer's still the safer choice, but Wilson is creeping up fast. This draft class just got a whole lot more interesting at the top.
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This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.