The term one-and-done has become ubiquitous with the top freshmen in college basketball each year.
They come to the NCAA ranks for a season, and then they leave for the NBA. For the most part, that’s what the rules allow, so that’s why the likes of Duke’s Zion Williamson and Cameron Boozer took that route in recent seasons.
The Blue Devils’ newest stud freshman, though, can’t do that.
Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, who has the potential to be one of college basketball’s most dominant interior presences this season, has to play two years of college ball — or, well, he at least can’t go to the NBA after this season, no matter what he decides to do next year.
Most likely, Duke will have Boumtje Boumtje for two years. And that’s a scary reality for the rest of the country.
Why Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje Can’t Leave For NBA After 1 Year
The NBA’s entry rule from the NCAA isn’t actually written as a freshman year situation. It’s about age.
The player who enters the draft has to be at least 19 years old at some point in the calendar year of the draft.
Boumtje Boumtje won’t turn 18 until May 30, 2027, though — which means he won’t turn 19 until 2028.
That means he’s not eligible under the current rules to go to the NBA until 2028.
Two other standout freshmen, UCLA’s Nikola Kusturica and Texas’ Marcus Spears Jr., also fall into this category.
There could be three one-and-done type players who can’t leave college hoops after one year.
It has the potential to add to the excitement around NCAA basketball at a time when a lot is changing in college sports.
And for Duke and Boumtje Boumtje specifically, it simply has the chance of making them extra dominant this year and next.
Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje Outlook
The Athletic’s Joe Rexrode recently named Boumtje Boumtje one of college basketball’s most 25 interesting figures for the season ahead.
“After getting a glimpse of Boumtje Boumtje in the preseason, get ready for ‘JBB’ to become a frequently used initialism among college hoops fans in the next couple of seasons,” Rexrode writes. “The 7-foot-2, 250-pound son of former Georgetown and Cameroon national team player Ruben Boumtje Boumtje, JBB is projected by some as the No. 1 NBA pick … in 2028, when he’s first eligible. Finally, Jon Scheyer gets some talent.”
Obviously the last line is tongue-in-cheek from Rexrode, but it is different that Boumtje Boumtje will likely be in Durham for at least two years.
Cooper Flagg just snuck under the line with a late-December birthday.
Boumtje Boumtje will be 17 for this entire college hoops season, though, and he could reach a sky-high ceiling across two years with Duke.
Duke’s Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje Has To Stay In College For 2 Years — Here’s Why