DURHAM, N.C. -- The concept of getting cut wasn't totally foreign to Carlos Boozer. That's what sometimes happens to other players.
Not to Boozer, one of the top high school recruits when he came to Duke in 1999 from Juneau-Douglas High School, a guy who was named to the ACC's all-freshman team after averaging 13 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds despite being hobbled with an ankle injury early in the season.
But there he was this past summer, shocked when the roll call for USA Basketball's under-20 team did not include him. "He was very disappointed," his father, Carlos Sr., said.
Not making that team, however, may have been the best thing for Boozer.
"I don't think not making a team is a bad experience," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "It's a truthful experience. Truthful experiences for young people, especially if they're developing, are hard to come by."
Boozer agreed.
"It got the hunger back inside me to get better and be a contributor this season," he said.
Boozer, an 18-year-old sophomore, has been a man on a mission since he was cut, using the disappointment as motivation.
He has improved his endurance and stamina with a more intense running regimen and picked up pointers at Pete Newell's big man camp.
A better-conditioned Boozer with a couple of new moves in the paint will bode well for a Duke team that is among the favorites to win the national championship.
At 6-foot-9 and 260 pounds, Boozer is the Blue Devils' only proven player inside. He should have more help with sophomores Casey Sanders and Nick Horvath a year older and stronger, but he still will be counted on to be one of Duke's top players.
"The last couple of weeks in the preseason workouts have been his best," Krzyzewski said. "We can see noticeable, positive improvement. Not that he was bad before. He's a good player."
So good, many thought that making the USA Basketball team would be a given. Boozer was coming off a strong NCAA Tournament in which he improved his scoring (14 points) and rebounding (8.7) averages from the regular season. He came up with big plays in important games, such as Duke' s 69-64 win over Kansas in a second-round game. Boozer had 15 points and 13 rebounds against the Jayhawks, but his steal with less than a minute to play led to a pair of free throws that put the Blue Devils ahead by three points with 24.7 seconds to play.
During the USA Basketball tryouts, however, Boozer did not dominate as he had at times during the NCAA Tournament.
"He wasn't good enough to make that team, for one reason or another," Krzyzewski said. "It shows he has to work. Unless that happens, maybe you think you're working hard enough."
Krzyzewski said Boozer had hit a plateau in terms of his playing ability. It was as if "what he did was what he was going to be," Krzyzewski said. "That's wrong. He doesn't become 19 until [Nov. 20], so he's got a lot of development to go."
Boozer said he has learned that he can never be satisfied. "And whatever I do, I can always improve on that and work a little harder," he said.
Duke co-captain Shane Battier views Boozer as one of the most important players on the team.
"He's a terrific rebounder, provides us with a great inside presence and will only be better this year because he is a year older, more seasoned," Battier said. "I'm not worried about Carlos. Our opponents need to worry about Carlos."
Especially if he develops a consistent perimeter jumper.
"He was doing a little bit of that last year," Krzyzewski said. "The stuff that we're doing, because we want to open our motion offense up a little bit more ... we want more freedom of movement, and that necessitates Carlos to move to the high post or out on the perimeter. He can do that."
If Boozer is able to hit shots outside the paint consistently, that would draw defenders away from the basket and open up driving lanes for Duke's bevy of off-the-dribble scorers.
"Facing the basket will help me get my defender in foul trouble, too," Boozer said.
