Nearly two decades after winning the national championship as a member of the Blue Devils, former college hoops and NBA star Carlos Boozer has gone back to Duke and finished what he started.
Departing for the NBA after his junior year meant that Boozer was three classes shy of achieving his degree, and he made it his goal over the pandemic-altered summer to hit the books. His hard work paid off. He has earned his degree.
Boozer's career .631 field-goal percentage remains not only the best in program history but in ACC history among qualified scorers. He's in the top 20 in career win shares (19.0) in the ACC as well.
Boozer came up big down the stretch of March Madness in 2001, scoring 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the Final Four and posting a double-double in the championship game.
The Duke men's basketball team responded to his graduation on Twitter.
Despite his prolific college career, Boozer fell to the second round of the 2002 NBA Draft, where the Cavaliers selected him. He became one of that class's biggest steals. His 80.3 career NBA win shares are second only to Amar'e Stoudemire (92.5) in that draft class. Boozer finished his NBA career with a near double-double average (16.2 points, 9.5 rebounds per game) and was a two-time All-Star for the Jazz before he spent four strong years in Chicago. He finished his career with the Lakers. Boozer also earned an Olympic gold medal in 2008 while playing for Team USA.
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