Columbus’ Cameron Boozer is Miami-Dade’s 7A-5A Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year
Two state titles. State and national Player of the Year awards.
And now, even a “Throne” and a crown after winning a national title.
Cameron Boozer has already accumulated more than a typical career’s worth of accolades, and he’s only a sophomore.
With two more seasons to find a way to top it, Boozer capped an amazing second high school season with a state title before winning Most Valuable Player honors at the inaugural The Throne national tournament this past Saturday.
As such, Boozer was a no-brainer pick for the Miami Herald’s Class 7A-5A Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year for Miami-Dade County for the second consecutive season.
Already the Herald’s Male Athlete of the Year for large schools as a freshman, Boozer averaged 21.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game during another dominant season during which Columbus went 26-4 and finished ranked ninth in the nation by MaxPreps.
The Explorers became the first Miami-Dade school to win back-to-back state titles in the state’s largest classification since Miami High from 1996-1998.
The Explorers followed that by winning four games in four days at The Throne tournament against some of the top teams in the country.
“It’s amazing. We’ve been together for two years and been through hell and back with these boys,” Boozer said on the Fox Sports broadcast after the Explorers won the tournament final 65-57 over the Central Cabarrus Vikings from North Carolina, who had gone 32-0 this year prior to that game.
“We fought through two games being down and these boys never gave up. We stepped up to the challenge and that’s why we won tonight.”
Boozer, the top prospect in the nation for the Class of 2025, racked up the awards toward the end of March.
After becoming only the second sophomore (joining Eastern Michigan’s Emoni Bates) to ever win the Gatorade National Player of the Year award, Boozer was named the Florida Dairy Farmers’ Mr. Florida Basketball winner last week.
He was the first winner of that award from Miami-Dade County since Monsignor Pace’s Ray Shipman in 2008 and first South Florida winner since NSU University School alum Vernon Carey Jr.
“Obviously, this is something that you look at and you’re just like, ‘Oh, that would be nice,’” Boozer said after winning Gatorade National Player of the Year. “But it wasn’t really a goal for this year. I was just trying to improve my game and win as a team. But getting the award is a big deal. So it’s going to be a goal for me in the future, as well.”
