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Cayden Boozer Visited Patients at Duke Hospital, Spoke About Saving Brother's Life
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- Cayden Boozer Visited Patients at Duke Hospital, Spoke About Saving Brother's Life
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Cayden Boozer visited patients at Duke Hospital last week and spoke about saving his brother's life.
Cayden and Cameron Boozer saved Carmani's Boozer life.
Carmani has sickle cell disease. The best way to save his life was a bone marrow transplant using stem cells from a sibling's umbilical cord.
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"My brother had sickle cell disease, and the only reason me and Cameron are born was to save my brother," Cayden said . "We just want to show awareness, and it's really important for my family and for myself to bring awareness to the NMDP and make sure that I'm giving as much information as I can with the platform that I have."
During his hospital visit, Cayden met with children facing serious medical challenges, sharing conversations and moments of levity. One memorable interaction came with a patient named Junior, who is awaiting a heart transplant. The two played a game together, with Junior coming away victorious.
"The most important thing is the platform that we have, and what's important is how we use it," Cayden said. "If somebody sees a video of mine talking about the NMDP and about this registry, and they end up joining the registry, and they become a match for somebody else, then I did my life's purpose."
Cameron is in the NBA now. He was drafted third overall in this year's draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.
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Cayden decided to come back to Duke.
Last season, Cayden averaged 7.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 50.0% from the field, 30.3% from beyond the arc and 81.3% from the foul line.
Duke's approach to the season will be fascinating to watch in the early weeks. The Blue Devils are coming off heartbreaking NCAA tournament defeats in the past two seasons. They don't have an impact one-and-done lottery pick such as Cooper Flagg or Cameron entering the program, but they still enter the season ranked No. 2 in the country .
Coach Jon Scheyer also faces more roster questions than he has in recent campaigns. Will it be Caleb Foster or Cayden at the point? Is Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell ready for the spotlight? How fast will Scheyer bring along Joaquim Boumtje, the potential No. 1 pick in the 2028 draft?
Is Scheyer ready to go 10-, 11-, 12-deep? If Scheyer pushes the right buttons at the right time, the Blue Devils could erase the demons of the past two tourney exits and cut down the nets.
