It was quite the Duke homecoming Tuesday for Johnny Dawkins.
For the first time since 2008, the former Blue Devils All-America was back in Cameron Indoor Stadium, where his retired jersey — No. 24 — hangs in the rafters. He was a driving force, literally and proverbially, in Mike Krzyzewski’s first Final Four team in 1986 and an assistant coach on Coach K’s staff on the 2001 national championship team .
But while greeted warmly and loudly, Dawkins came back to Cameron not to take few bows but as the Central Florida coach, back to play Duke in the Blue Devils’ first exhibition game of the 2025-26 season.
Krzyzewski, his old coach, gave Dawkins a big hug before the game. The Blue Devils, ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll in Jon Scheyer’s fourth year as coach, then defeated Dawkins and the Golden Knights, 96-71, as Duke freshman Cameron Boozer showed out with 33 points and 12 rebounds.
“I didn’t have a goal for myself, just to win the game and we did that,” Boozer said. “I mean, at the end of the day, as long as I’m competing, playing to win, all of those things are going to show up. “
The Blue Devils had a strong start, but the Golden Knights settled into the game and had the lead early in the second half before a 16-2 run pushed Duke into 64-50 lead. The Duke lead continued to grow.
“I would argue that Johnny Dawkins was as important a player who ever came to Duke and in what’s he done,” said Scheyer, who said he was recruited to Duke by Dawkins. “It was an honor to have him back. His team is older, athletic and gave us a lot of problems, which is good.
“I learned more about our team. It’s time to get on the floor and learn about your team. There’s a ton we have to work on, a lot we have to get better at, but I liked the competitiveness. I did like the fire that we showed.”
Cam Boozer leads the Blue Devils
Much is expected this season from the Boozer twins, Cameron and Cayden, and Cameron Boozer gave a preview of what could come in his first — and perhaps only — college season.
“Obviously, in your first game it’s natural to have jitters,” Cayden Boozer said. “But for him to have that confidence and belief in himself, to have a game like he had, doesn’t surprise me. I know the kind of player he is. He’s the best player in the country, in my opinion.”
A load inside at 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, Boozer was too tough for the Golden Knights to handle. He scored on set plays, on lobs, on putbacks and hustle plays. He also slipped outside for a few 3-pointers and knocked down four to further fuel the crowd.
“It was a pretty good game,” Scheyer said, smiling. “He’s a warrior, man. I think that’s the best thing I can say about him. He’s a warrior, competitor. He’s just a big-time winner.”
It wasn’t a Duke blowout, as many might have expected in a first exhibition game against a UCF team that had completely remade its roster. The Blue Devils had a 40-39 halftime lead and trailed early in the second half.
The Blue Devils got off 21 shots from the 3-point line in the first half — including 13 of Duke’s first 15 shots — causing Scheyer to quip, “I thought we were going to break a record there for a second.”
The Blue Devils were 6-of-14 on 3’s in the second half, when they shot 54.8 percent from the field after a 33.3 percent first half.
“We settled in more in the second half,” Scheyer said.
Duke misses two injured players
While much has been made of Duke losing five players to the NBA after last season, led by Cooper Flagg, the Golden Knights have 13 newcomers and are one of five Power 4 teams that do not return a player who scored a point (at UCF) last season.
Dawkins, starting his 10th UCF season, was asked before the game about having so many new guys and quipped it can cause a coach to lose his hair — Dawkins already being bald.
The Blue Devils did not have senior Maliq Brown or freshman Dame Sarr available Tuesday. Brown continues to work his way back from a preseason knee procedure and Sarr was sidelined with an oblique injury.
Duke’s starting lineup had junior point guard Caleb Foster and sophomore Isaiah Evans in the backcourt, Patrick Ngongba II at center, with Boozer and freshman Nikolas Khamenia. Cayden Boozer and Darren Harris were the first two substitutes off the bench.
Khamenia, a rugged 6-8 forward from Los Angeles and another 5-star recruit, had 14 points and 8 rebounds and took a few hard falls as he drove to the basket.
The Blue Devils bolted to a 16-4 lead as both teams were banging bodies on the defensive end but Duke was making some shots — Evans with a pair of 3’s and Harris another.
Cameron Boozer, who opened the game with a 3-point play, had 15 first-half points. That was offset by the good shooting of UCF’s Jordan Burks, a transfer from Georgetown who had 18 of his 21 points in the half.
Duke has a second exhibition game Oct. 26 at Tennessee before opening the season Nov. 4 against Texas in the Dick Vitale Invitational in Charlotte.
“I think we have a really deep team,” Cayden Boozer said. “It’s going to be somebody else’s night every game. We’re going to do the best we can, and whoever that guy is, we’re going to find him.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2025 at 10:26 PM.
Chip Alexander
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