It will be interesting to see how the rotation at point guard shakes out for the high-powered Duke basketball squad as the season progresses.

But as things stand, given Cayden Boozer's spot in the starting five throughout the No. 2-ranked Blue Devils' three-game exhibition slate, the 6-foot-4, 195-pound sophomore appears to be the slight frontrunner to begin the regular season as the team's starting floor general over athletically gifted freshman Deron Rippey Jr. and veteran senior Caleb Foster, who sat out the first two exhibitions while recovering from an ankle injury.

Sure, Boozer's stats production in preseason play was far from prolific for a starter. That said, the fact that he totaled only 20 points and 10 assists across his combined 67 minutes in the exhibition wins over the Belmont Bruins, Tennessee Volunteers, and Kansas Jayhawks just doesn't tell the whole story when it comes to the 19-year-old Miami native's contributions to the Blue Devils' winning formula in October.

Cayden Boozer weak-side putback ™️ pic.twitter.com/l7Q9QDu7rC

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) October 25, 2026

Jon Scheyer on Second-Year Duke Basketball Player Cayden Boozer

"I don't want to say it's misleading, but sometimes you don't feel his impact the way that you understand it when you're digesting and watching the course of the game." fifth-year head coach Jon Scheyer explained about Boozer during this week's edition of Fast Break with Coach Scheyer. "His passing changed the game in the Kansas game. He made so many plays without dribbling. He made a bunch of plays where I would call it a hockey assist, like he made the pass to the next pass.

"So again, I don't think all of this stuff is going to show up on the box score...He's taking care of the ball: 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio [across the exhibitions]...We need him to play that way. And I do believe also his scoring will be there as well."

Yes, despite being the primary ball-handler when on the court, Boozer committed only two turnovers in preseason play, averaging only one per 33.5 minutes of action. Plus, he displayed confidence in helping to dictate the tempo of the Blue Devils' offense.

And in terms of his own bucket-getting efforts, it's not as though he missed a costly amount of shots. No, he was a combined 5-for-15 from the field, 2-for-4 from three, and 8-for-8 at the foul line in the exhibition victories.

Last season, Boozer drew 11 starting nods across his 38 outings for a Duke basketball team that finished 35-3 overall, captured the ACC Tournament and regular season crowns, and reached the Elite Eight. He averaged 7.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists, emerging as the go-to point guard late in the campaign when Foster was working his way back from injury.

Cayden Boozer and the Blue Devils are now gearing up for their regular season opener. They host the unranked Army Black Knights in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 6:30 p.m. ET Monday (ESPNU).