The 2026-27 college basketball season begins in just over three weeks, meaning the top programs around the country will be playing in various open (and closed-door) scrimmages throughout the next month in preparation for the season. A handful of teams played their first scrimmage of the season on Thursday, including Duke, Alabama and LSU. Duke faced Belmont on Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, which gave college basketball fans a glimpse of a roster expected to open the season ranked No. 2 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll.
Furthermore, it was the first look at several newcomers on the roster, including Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell and incoming five-star freshman big man Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje. Boumtje Boumtje stole the show and showed why he should be the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2028 NBA Draft. He finished with a team-high 19 points in 22 minutes and shot 7 of 11 from the field during the Blue Devils' 102-62 win over Belmont.
Duke was without veteran guard Caleb Foster — the projected starter at point guard — for its first exhibition game due to an ankle injury. LSU's roster construction under Will Wade, who is returning for his second stint as the Tigers' coach, has been under a microscope this offseason. For the past several weeks, LSU has listed just four players on the team's website due to almost half of the roster being in eligibility limbo because of holding out for a fifth year, or international players who hadn't been cleared to play.
The Tigers played just seven players in the 63-60 win over McNeese, which included former UCLA star Donovan Dent making his debut with his new team. With the first wave of scrimmages in the books, here are the biggest takeaways from Thursday. After watching Boumtje Boumtje make his debut in a college uniform, it's very obvious why he should be the consensus favorite to go No. 1 in 2028.
Boumtje Boumtje, who doesn't turn 18 until May 30 and will play the entire 2026-27 season at 17 years old, is not eligible for next summer's draft due to the NBA's age requirement, which requires players to be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft. Boumtje Boumtje isn't the only newcomer in college basketball who falls under that umbrella, as Texas' Marcus Spears Jr. and UCLA's Nikola Kusturica will each have to play at least two seasons of college basketball before declaring for the draft. One of the top position battles coming into the season was who Duke would start at power forward next to veteran big man Patrick Ngongba II, with Boumtje Boumtje and fellow five-star Cameron Williams serving as the top contenders to occupy that spot.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer started Boumtje Boumtje in its first scrimmage, which is a strong indication that he has the inside track to hold onto that starting spot. Impressive debut performance for Duke’s 17-year old Joaquim Boumtje-BoumtjeThe 7-2, 250 pound 17 year old who played this past season at the youth level for FC Barcelona put in 19 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals on an efficient 7-11 shootingMassive height advantage vs… pic.twitter.com/ZeZYPKMggY Boumtje Boumtje had a complete game against Belmont that showcased a little bit of everything in his game. Above all else, what stood out about his performance is how clean his shot mechanics look for a 7-foot-2 big man who is just 17 years old.
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