As Chipotle Nationals nears, Columbus' Cameron Boozer earns another prestigious accolade
Boozer has been named one of three finalists for the 2024-25 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award.
Boozer, who is ranked the No. 2 prospect in the country by 247Sports, Rivals and On3, just led Columbus to its fourth consecutive state championship. He averaged 22.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks per game this season while leading the Explorers to a 27-3 record and a No. 1 national ranking per MaxPreps.
Boozer and his brother, Cayden, who is also a top 25 national recruit, both signed with Duke University.
Cameron, who continues to rack up the accolades as he prepares to head to the next level, has a chance to become a two-time winner of this award having already claimed the prize after his sophomore season. Boozer is also a 2025 MaxPreps Preseason First Team All-American and maintains a 3.94 unweighted GPA.
Cameron and Cayden will both participate in this year's McDonald's All-American Game in Brooklyn on April 1.
In addition to Boozer, the other two finalists are Caleb Wilson, a senior power forward from Atlanta, Georgia who has signed with the University of North Carolina. Wilson is the No. 5 recruit in the class of 2025 per Rivals and a fellow McDonald's All-American and MaxPreps Preseason First Team All-American.
The other is Brayden Burries, a senior guard from Eastvale, California, who is ranked No. 9 in the class of 2025 per 247 Sports and is also a McDonald's All-American and MaxPreps Preseason Second Team All-American.
NATIONAL TITLE?
The Boozer brothers will then try to lead Columbus to a national championship at the Chipotle Nationals tournament April 2-5 in Fishers, Indiana.
The Explorers are the top seed among the 10 teams in the bracket and will play their first game on April 3 at 8 p.m. on ESPNU. Columbus will face the winner of the matchup between No. 8 seed Bradenton IMG Academy and No. 9 seed Wasatch Academy of Utah, which will be played April 2 at 8 p.m.
If they advance to the semifinals, Columbus would play either No. 4 seed Brewster Academy (New Hampshire) or No. 5 seed CIA Bella Vista (CA) on April 4 at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The championship game is scheduled for April 5 at noon and will be televised on ESPN.
The rest of the field consists of No. 2 seed Link Academy (Mo.), No. 3 seed Long Island Lutheran (NY), No. 6 seed Prolific Prep (CA), No. 7 seed Montverde Academy and No. 10 seed Dynamic Prep (Tex.).
The Explorers' three losses this season came against three of those teams - Prolific Prep, Long Island Lutheran and Link Academy. Columbus avenged the loss to Link Academy later in the season and also defeated Bella Vista, Dynamic Prep, IMG Academy and Montverde Academy.
If Columbus finishes the season ranked No. 1 nationally, it stands to become the first Miami-Dade County boys' basketball team to win a national championship. The closest is believed to be Miami High's 1997-98 team, which finished the season ranked No. 2 nationally.
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