Duke’s newest big man wasted no time making his presence felt.
In the Blue Devils’ exhibition against Belmont on Thursday night, 7-foot-2 freshman Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje stepped onto the floor and immediately looked like a problem Duke can keep handing the ball to. He started the game and poured in 10 points with five rebounds in the opening eight minutes, flashing the kind of two-way impact that has people around the program buzzing.
By the end of the night, the 17-year-old had put together a loud first showing in a Duke uniform: 19 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 22 minutes, while shooting 7-for-11 from the field. Duke rolled to a 102-62 preseason win, and Boumtje Boumtje tied Dame Sarr for the game’s scoring lead.
The production backed up the hype that followed him into Durham. Boumtje Boumtje arrived as a consensus five-star and top-5 prospect in the 2027 class before reclassifying to join Duke this season. He also comes in with serious momentum after earning MVP honors for the U17 Team USA World Cup squad that won gold over the summer.
What stood out against Belmont was how polished he already looked for someone this young. He knocked down multiple three-pointers early, made plays on both ends, and seemed to control the game despite being the youngest player on Duke’s roster. As one post after the game put it: “Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje is a walking mismatch.”
There was still some missing size around him. Belmont transfer Drew Scharnowski did not play, and five-star freshman forward Cameron Williams was held to fewer than 15 minutes in his first game. Even so, Boumtje Boumtje’s performance was hard to ignore.
He’s already getting early chatter as a possible No. 1 pick in the 2028 NBA Draft. That’s a long way off, but this was the kind of debut that makes the conversation feel real. And if Duke keeps getting this version of Boumtje Boumtje once the games count, the Blue Devils will have plenty of reason to believe they’re back in the Final Four mix.
In Other News...
Dukes First Loss Put One Big Limit On This Team
Dukes first loss of the 2026 season came in Atlanta, a 28-25 defeat to Georgia Tech that left the Blue Devils with a familiar kind of frustration: they were close, productive and still not quite clean enough to finish the job. Penalties were a major reason the night slipped away, and the offense had to navigate a tougher script than usual with running back Nate Sheppard working through the game on a taped foot.
Even with that limitation, Sheppard still led Duke in both rushing and receiving yards, a reminder of how much the Blue Devils lean on him when the margins get tight. Walker Eget helped keep the offense moving with 259 passing yards and a touchdown, stepping up when Sheppard was clearly not at full strength, but Duke still ran into one big limit that showed up at the wrong time and cost it the chance to leave Atlanta unbeaten. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Suddenly Has A Troubling Issue Before North Carolina
Dukes unbeaten start came to an abrupt end with a 28-25 loss to Georgia Tech, and the way it happened left plenty for the Blue Devils to sort through before the rivalry game against North Carolina. The loss exposed issues in the trenches and around the quarterback, even as Nate Sheppard and Walker Eget turned in performances that kept Duke within striking distance deep into the game.
For a team that had been rolling, the concern now is less about one bad night than about what it revealed. Duke struggled to control the line of scrimmage, couldnt consistently generate a pass rush, and again came up short in late-game execution, a combination that turns next week into more than just another ACC game. North Carolina is arriving at a moment when Duke suddenly has to answer a much tougher question about how quickly it can clean this up. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Newcomers Are Embracing A Lineup Edge Fans Will Notice Fast
Jon Scheyer is leaving himself room to lean on a much deeper Duke rotation this season, and that approach was on display during a preseason scrimmage against Belmont. Freshman guard Deron Rippey Jr. and senior transfer guard John Blackwell both sounded encouraged by what they saw, pointing to a roster built with enough depth and versatility to keep the Blue Devils from relying on the same small group every night.
The short-term wrinkle is that Duke is still working through injuries to two players, though the expectation is that both will be ready for the season opener. Even so, the early feel around this group is that Scheyer could have more lineup options than usual, and the newcomers are already embracing the idea that competition for minutes will be part of the teams edge. [Read more 🡒]