By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Cameron Boozer sat at the microphone for top-ranked Duke’s postgame news conference, listening to his coach break down a win that secured the outright Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title.
Yet something else commanded attention as Jon Scheyer spoke: the pair of long, thick and inflamed scratches wrapped around the star freshman’s exposed right shoulder following Monday night’s 93-64 victory at N.C. State.
“Just, the Wolfpack got me, you know?” Boozer said with a light-hearted grin, drawing laughter from Scheyer and teammate Dame Sarr as well as reporters packed in the room. “Yeah, they’ve got long claws.”
The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Boozer has been used to physical play as a top-flight NBA prospect and the guy atop the defensive scouting report for every opponent. He’s been at the heart of the pound-it-inside approach that’s carried his team to the top of the AP Top 25. And he was dominant again in the latest dominating show for the Blue Devils (28-2, 16-1 ACC), scoring 26 points while making 8 of 10 shots and 9 of 11 free throws to go with nine rebounds.
Those multi-inch, wince-inducing wounds stood out just as much.
Boozer didn’t specify which play they occurred on beyond saying they came from one of the Wolfpack’s big men after halftime. He had repeatedly worked in the heart of North Carolina State’s new-wrinkle zone — a move coach Will Wade described as a “desperation” attempt to find a defensive spark — and notably took some physical play and hard contact from 6-10, 280-pound Wolfpack reserve Scottie Ebube.
“You can’t shy away from the contact. You’ve got to really initiate it, to be honest,” Boozer said. “Be the aggressor.”
Boozer drew nine of the Wolfpack’s 22 fouls, marking the third straight game in which he attempted at least 11 free throws.
And he had the marks to prove it — a fair swap, he figured, for that league crown.
“I think it just goes to show our fight, the toughness we brought to this game,” Boozer said. “I’m proud of our guys. Like Coach said, won the ACC outright. So it’s big-time for our team, for sure.”