Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje is still a 17-year-old freshman finding his way in college basketball.

After a stellar collegiate debut, in which Boumtje Boumtje went for 19 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, and two steals on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and 2-of-5 shooting from three-point range in a scrimmage against Belmont, the star rookie quickly became a pretty big name in the college basketball world.

He was named the ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year, named to Preseason All-ACC Second Team, and even received a vote for Preseason ACC Player of the Year. However, it's important to remember that Boumtje Boumtje is still figuring all this out.

Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje Still Finding His Way

Boumtje Boumtje is a fairly unique prospect, given he came through the international route and must spend at least two years in college basketball before potentially heading to the NBA. Interestingly, Boumtje Boumtje and UCLA rookie Nikola Kusturica, another international freshman who must spend at least two years in college, look like the early frontrunners to be the top two picks in the 2028 NBA Draft.

The seven-footer is an elite prospect. But it's still important to keep in mind how new he is to college basketball and that he will need time to find his groove. In Duke's first three games, Boumtje Boumtje is averaging 9.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and a steal a night. He went for five points, four boards, and a steal on 2-of-5 shooting against Michigan State in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night.

Given his ridiculous ceiling and flashes of superstar potential, it was somewhat easy to project that Boumtje Boumtje would be one of the best players in college basketball right away. The first few games have shown that it will take him some time to truly figure out what his role will be with Duke in 2026-27.

Now, that isn't at all to say that he hasn't impacted winning in a big way, because he has. Boumtje Boumtje's ability to guard multiple positions at over seven feet tall makes him a super unique defensive tool for Jon Scheyer and his staff to utilize, and he's got polished guard skills on the offensive side of the floor. At the same time, he's still 17 years old and figuring out exactly how he fits.

After Duke's Champions Classic loss to the Spartans, Scheyer was asked about how he can get more out of Boumtje Boumtje.

"You know what, I think that's just part of the process," Scheyer said. "This is a high-level game. [Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje]'s wired for these moments, but we just got to continue to figure out how to get him, we got to get him the ball too. You know, I mean offensively we got to look for him, we got to put him in better positions, and then it's just the things that you have to learn as a 17 year old."

"I was proud of him, man. Because he came back in and he showed some great competitiveness, got the rebound. But we got to be better in getting him shots...and JoJo's going to continue to learn and grow from this."

Boumtje Boumtje Will Figure It Out

I think Boumtje Boumtje has the highest ceiling of any prospect Scheyer has had since he took over at Duke. But at the same time, he's still very new to the sport. Additionally, on a team with so many different options, it will take time for all of these guys to figure out exactly how they fit on a nightly basis.

Boumtje Boumtje has impacted winning in a really big way, but he's still got a ton of room to get better. A lot of that will come with just getting more comfortable as his first season of college basketball progresses.

The Blue Devils faced a great early test from a disciplined, experienced Michigan State club coached by one of the best to ever do it, Tom Izzo. Duke will have to grow up and adjust quickly, as it faces a slew of other premier non-conference opponents over the next couple of weeks.

Between Nov. 17 and Dec. 1, the Blue Devils will meet No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 UConn, and No. 1 Florida.