23 in 23: Cameron Boozer and the field in 2025
Who is the No. 1 player in the country for the class of 2025?
JOSH TEC: Yeah, Boozer is easily the No. 1 high school player regardless of class. I’ve accidentally followed Columbus around the southeast over the last couple of weeks, so I’ve gotten to see Boozer play against some of the best. His “bad” game resulted in a 12-point and 14-rebound double-double. Think about that. I love that there’s no smoke ducking with Boozer. He takes the toughest challengers head-on.
To further the point of how strong the top of 2025 is, I think Cooper Flagg is the second best regardless of class. While Boozer and Flagg have pretty much locked themselves in the top two spots for the time being, I’m excited to see how this class looks in the end.
Since we all agree that Cameron Boozer is the No. 1 overall player in the class of 2025, the question should be this - is he the best high school player in North America?
JUSTIN YOUNG: The answer for me is an emphatic yes. Moreover, I’d argue that he could finish his high school career as one of the 10 best players that I’ve ever seen at the high school level. Sure, we toss out a sentence like that probably more than we should nowadays. He’s up there with the likes of Greg Oden, Dwight Howard, Michael Beasley, and the like for me in my three decades of covering high school hoops. Boozer plays like a guy that has no equals at the prep level. And he’s cool, calm and collected with such a rare place to be as a teenager.
Did I mention that he still has two and a half more years of scholastic basketball? The biggest question will be how he lives up to the hype, can he ignore expectations and just keep his head down and get better? The circle around him stays tight and grounded which makes me confident his ability to do so is pretty good.
GARRETT TUCKER: I would agree that Boozer has made his case as one of the top players in high school basketball, regardless of class. There are pros out there that would love to have some things from his “bag,” as the kids say. He’s played at such a high level on the biggest of stages already at this point in his career, and, quite frankly, I’m not sure we’ve ever seen a 15 year-old go through this gauntlet.
But, as far as the 2025 class goes, how many times have we seen players come out of nowhere and make their marks late in the process? Myles Turner is one of the first that come to mind. He really emerged during his last year of travel basketball. We’re very familiar with Jaylen Brown and he made a surge during his senior year to become a top prospect. You get the point here. Who’s going to be that guy that comes out of nowhere to be a top dog? I’m excited to see that late bloomer.
