Columbus’ Cameron Boozer is Miami-Dade’s Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year for 7A-5A

When the season was getting ready to start and it was clear Columbus was going to start a trio of freshmen, Andrew Moran often would hear outsiders talk about how exciting the future would be for the Explorers, he said.

The coach, however, was excited about the presence because he knew how good Cameron Boozer and Co. could be right away.

“We’re going to go for it this year,” he told his team. “Don’t think about next year.”

With Boozer leading the way, Columbus proved its coach right. The Explorers went to the state championship for the first time and came back to Miami with the Class 7A title. In the championship game, Boozer led the way with 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a block to cap a spectacular season, and solidify himself as the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year for Classes 7A-4A.

Only a freshman, Boozer averaged 18.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.2 blocks per game to lead Columbus’ best season in program history.

“It means a lot to me,” Boozer said. “A lot of people had doubts I could come in and have the impact that I had, so to be able to come here and prove a lot of people wrong means a lot to me.”

As the son of former All-NBA power forward Carlos Boozer, the young wing has spent most of his life immersed in the sport. He first started playing at 2, and was already drawing recruiting interest from the Miami Hurricanes and FIU Panthers before he even started high school.

He also plays alongside twin brother Cayden Boozer and presented a daunting duo for anyone to contend with.

“It’s in my blood, really,” he said. “I don’t think there’s really a connection you could have stronger than the one you have with your brother, especially on the court.”

In the title game, their chemistry was on full display. Cameron Boozer carried the offense through three quarters and then Cayden Boozer scored seven in the fourth quarter to help the Explorers finish off their 45-44 upset of Orlando Dr. Phillips, which was nationally ranked in the top 25 by MaxPreps at the time.

It provided the perfect ending to the best season in Columbus history.

Boozer hopes it’s only the beginning.

“It was always a goal, even from preseason, the start. We were always talking about winning a state championship,” he said. “We’re definitely going to keep working at it, hopefully have four in a row.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 12:30 PM.