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Goodnews: John Calipari heavily pursued the Boozer twins for the University of Kentucky basketball team
The Kentucky men’s basketball program was known for attracting five-star players while it was led by John Calipari. A prospect’s recruitment probably involved the Wildcats in some way if they were thought to be among the best in their particular class of recruits.
Even during what turned out to be his final season as UK’s head coach, Calipari repeatedly made insinuations about how well recruiting was going with prospects in the class of 2025, who will shortly begin their senior high school seasons.
And with Cal leading the way, two guys in this excellent 2025 class were very interested in playing for the University of Arizona.
The twin sons of NBA All-Star and former Duke basketball player Carlos Boozer, Cameron and Cayden Boozer are well on their way to creating their own basketball legacy.
According to 247Sports Composite, 6-foot-9 power forward Cameron is rated as the second-best player in the 2025 recruiting class. Cayden is a guard that is 6-3 and rated No. 17.
In May of last year, Calipari gave them scholarships to Kentucky, and in September of last year, the two paid a formal visit to Lexington together.
This was the first time that any of their recruits had received an official visit. Since then, a lot has occurred. Calipari’s departure from UK for Arkansas and the appointment of former BYU coach Mark Pope to oversee the Wildcats are the two major stories.
Top-ranked high school recruiting classes are expected to disappear from Kentucky now that Pope is in control. Pope, who has only been the head coach of the United Kingdom for slightly over a month, hasn’t backed down from the high expectations of the country, though.
This also applies to the hiring process
Regarding the Boozer twins, last weekend’s events amply demonstrated Pope’s desire to keep bringing them to the UK.
Pope made it a point to be courtside for the Boozers’ games against Nightrydas Elite, their star-studded EYBL team that is currently top of the standings, while he watched the third session of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) near Indianapolis, which took place during a live recruiting period for college coaches.
In actuality, Cameron scored 20 points, pulled down eight boards, and gave out eight assists in a Nightyrdas game that Pope watched for the first time as UK’s coach. Cayden also contributed 13 points, five rebounds, and eight assists.
Although my mother and I haven’t really spoken yet, Pope spoke to her earlier,” Cameron said on Saturday afternoon. “We’ll observe the situation there.” Three Kentucky coaches, including assistant coach Jason Hart, associate head coach Alvin Brooks III, and Pope, were gathered with courtside seats to watch the Boozer twins play at one point last weekend.
You become aware of them all. How are you unable to? Cameron stated of the numerous high-major coaches present at the Nike EYBL session last weekend. There’s fierce rivalry in Kentucky for the Boozer twins: The two players are stars at Miami’s Christopher Columbus High School, and many nearby institutions, including Miami (Fla.) and Florida, are prioritizing them both.
There’s obviously Duke, the school with which their father, Carlos, won the 2001 NCAA championship. Duke’s archrival, North Carolina, is also pushing hard for both Cameron and Cayden.
The Kentucky basketball brand carried big weight on the recruiting trail under Calipari, and Pope’s recruitment of the Boozers could tell us plenty about how the new UK coach measures up in a top recruiting race.
So what do each of the Boozer twins have to say about Kentucky, Pope and the abrupt offseason coaching change that took place in Lexington?
Cameron said Kentucky “might get in there, a little bit” with regard to his recruitment. In the same response, he also singled out Arkansas (Calipari’s new program) and Michigan (a program now led by former Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May) as schools with a presence in his recruitment.
Kentucky obviously has ground to make up in the recruitment of the Boozer twins, but the Wildcats can benefit from having already had the two players on campus for a visit.
“Kentucky has some of the best facilities I’ve seen,” Cameron said. “I haven’t really seen much of their play style (with Pope), but I’m sure (Pope) is a great coach and we’ll see where that goes.”
Cayden — who specified that Arkansas, Duke, Florida, Miami (Fla.) and North Carolina are the schools he has the most contact with — expressed continued interest in being recruited by UK.
For as long as the Boozer twins have been known in recruiting circles, there’s been talk of the twin brothers being a package deal in college. All four of their official visits so far — to Kentucky, Miami (Fla.), Florida and Duke — have been taken together.
But, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re tied at the hip when it comes to a college choice.
“Obviously, it would be awesome if I could play with (Cameron) in college, but it just has to be the best fit for both of us,” Cayden said. “Obviously, we’ve visited the same schools at the same time, so we just talk about each school. But I mean, it just has to be the best fit for both of us.”
Both Cameron and Cayden said they don’t have any recruiting visits lined up in the near future, with a big summer of basketball on the horizon for both.
Cameron was noncommittal when discussing his recruiting timeline, while teasing a surprise visit and a plan of action when it comes to announcing his commitment.
“I’d say it’s not really pressure, but a decision is definitely hard to make,” Cameron said of his recruitment.
Cayden established a time frame for when he wants to make his choice.
“I’m not really worried about when I’m signing, or when I’m committing, but I’d like to do it before the high school season starts,” Cayden said.
How much Kentucky will end up ultimately factoring in either Boozer brother’s recruitment remains to be seen.
But it’s clear that, despite last fall’s visit to Lexington, plenty of big-time schools are ahead of the Cats for both players.
“It’s still a whole new recruiting process,” Cameron reiterated about being recruited to Kentucky by Pope. “I haven’t really spoken to (Pope), don’t really know what he’s about, what kind of play style he runs, anything like that. So, it’s still a whole new recruiting process if he were to reach out.”
