Second-Year Duke Basketball Players Note Benefits of Sticking Around

Last year, Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer and his staff welcomed yet another premier recruiting class. It consisted of five heralded prospects in Cameron Boozer, Cayden Boozer, Dame Sarr, Nikolas Khamenia, and Sebastian Wilkins.

Not all of them are still in Durham. No, Cameron Boozer is now an NBA rookie with the Memphis Grizzlies, and Khamenia entered the transfer portal and took his talents to the UConn Huskies, who ended the 2025-26 Blue Devils' season in heartbreaking fashion in the Elite Eight.

But batting 60 percent in terms of returning players from a recruiting class that ranked No. 1 in the country is quite respectable in this era. Add in the fact that one of the trio who returned, Sebastian Wilkins, redshirted last season while learning the ropes in the powerhouse program despite undoubtedly being talented enough to probably crack the regular rotation right away pretty much anywhere else.

"It's just understanding I'm playing with a lot of different great guys who can hoop," the 6-foot-8, 220-pound Wilkins, who tallied eight points, six rebounds, and two steals in a 102-62 scrimmage win over the visiting Belmont Bruins on Oct. 8, noted during the latest episode of The Brotherhood Podcast when breaking down the benefits of returning to Duke and now being on a roster that is arguably the deepest across Scheyer's five years at the helm.

Duke Basketball Sophomores Dame Sarr and Cayden Boozer Echo Sebastian Wilkins' Sentiments

Sarr, who averaged 6.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.0 steals last season and earned a spot on the ACC All-Defensive Team, added to Wilkins' point about being surrounded by teammates with next-level aspirations.

"That's why you come here, first of all, because you could go a lot of places where you're the best, but that's not what you want," the 6-foot-8, 200-pound wing from Italy said to Boozer and Wilkins on The Brotherhood Podcast. "The NBA is our goal. That's our dream. And you're not going to come [into the NBA] and be the best player. So, you might as well just go to a place like here and just get adjusted to that as fast as possible.

"I feel like that's what makes you the best version of yourself, having to come in every day understanding that if you're just half-speeding things, you're going to lose games, and you're going to look bad. And you don't want that to happen. So, you know, you're going to have the urgency [at Duke] of, 'I have to come in and get better every day.' And that's how we all get better here, for sure."

Evidently, Boozer agrees with his fellow second-year Blue Devils.

"Coach says, 'You can't run from competition,'" the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Boozer, who averaged 7.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists for a 2025-26 Duke basketball collection that won 35 games, commented to Wilkins and Sarr. "When you get to that next step, whatever that is, there's going to be even better players and more competition.

"So, being at a place like Duke, you might look bad or look crazy one day in practice, and having the confidence of being like, 'You know what, this happened, and I believe in myself and fighting back,' I mean, that's just the biggest part. Even if it doesn't feel great in the moment, you know that you're getting better each and every day. And you just can't run from competition, man. You just can't."

Sebastian Wilkins, Dame Sarr, Cayden Boozer, and the rest of the loaded 2026-27 Duke basketball team are now getting ready to host an exhibition game against the Tennessee Volunteers in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday (ACC Network).