Cameron Boozer shines, Nate Ament's double-double highlights of Duke's win over Vols

This past weekend featured several college basketball exhibition games. One of the most notable outings included Duke going on the road to take on Tennessee, two top-20 teams. The Vols got off to a good start and led at halftime, but the Blue Devils outscored the home team by 13 points in the second half to get the 83-76 victory.

The result doesn’t mean anything for either team, aside from seeing many newcomers on both squads. Here are some overall takeaways from the game. 

1. Cameron Boozer vs Nate Ament

Flagg was the National Player of the Year and eventual No. 1 NBA Draft pick, after leading Duke to the Final Four, averaging 19.5 ppg and 7.7 rpg. While Boozer came in as a top-3 freshman prospect in his own right, it wasn’t known if he’d have the same kind of dominant impact. 

However, Boozer was fantastic, playing almost the entire game and producing 24 points, 23 rebounds, and six assists for the Blue Devils. This was against a Vols frontcourt, which should be one of the best in the country, and Boozer wasn’t able to be contained. Ament, on the other hand, had 14 points and 10 rebounds but shot 5/19 from the field. The other top-10 freshman prospect had his moments, but certainly wasn’t as polished as Boozer.

In the end, both teams should be happy with their star freshmen, though Duke’s looks ready to make a case for National Player of the Year.

2. Isaiah Evans set to be No. 2 option for Duke

There were three double-digit scorers for the Blue Devils, including the starting frontcourt of Boozer and Patrick Ngongba. The other was Evans, who went for 22 points on 5/14 FT, including 4/9 from deep. The former five-star prospect had limited playing time a year ago but showed he can be explosive at times as a shooting threat. Considering some of the shooting struggles from the other perimeter players on the roster, Evans has become the clear next scoring option for the team next to Boozer, amplifying his breakout odds in year 2. 

3. Vols looking for its No. 3 

Although they combined for 10/40 shooting from the field, it’s clear that Nate Ament and Maryland transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie are the clear-cut go-to options for Tennessee on offense. The supporting cast collectively was fine, including forwards Felix Okpara and Dwanye Brown, each scoring in double figures. 

No one else took more than six FG attempts, including guards Bishop Boswell, Amaree Abram, and Ethan Burg, who were all quiet overall. The concern will be whether the Vols can find consistent production from the rest of the rotation without relying too much on Ament and Gillespie.