Villanova product Booth signs with Wizards
Phil Booth grew up going to Washington Wizards games with his dad, Phil Sr. Now the Baltimore native and former Villanova guard will get the chance to play for the team he followed as a youngster.
Booth signed an “Exhibit 10” deal with the Wizards, which earns him an invitation to training camp and a chance to earn a two-way contract with Washington and the Capital City Go-Go, its G-League affiliate.
“We’re proud of Phil,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said in a statement released by the university. “We know he is going to take full advantage of this opportunity with the Wizards.”
Booth averaged 11.3 points per game playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Las Vegas Summer League. His signing means that seven members of Villanova’s 2016 national championship team will be in NBA training camps. The others are Ryan Arcidiacono (Bulls), Josh Hart (Pelicans), Mikal Bridges (Suns), Donte DiVincenzo (Bucks), Jalen Brunson (Mavericks) and Eric Paschall (Warriors). There will also be six players from the 2018 national championship squad in NBA camps: Booth, Bridges, Brunson, DiVincenzo and Omari Spellman (Warriors).
Booth was the leading scorer in Villanova’s 77-74 victory over North Carolina in the 2016 national title game. He scored 20 points that night and made two crucial free throws late in the game. As a senior, the 6-3 guard led the Wildcats in scoring (16.5 ppg) and assists (3.8). He was a unanimous All-Big East selection and earned the Dave Gavitt Award as the Most Outstanding Player in the Big East tournament.