Booker a perfect fit on this MSU roster
EAST LANSING – Perhaps the best thing to happen to Xavier Booker’s college basketball career is Malik Hall returning for a fifth year. Or maybe it’s the glut of more experienced big men on MSU’s roster, meaning Booker won’t be forced to play center, where his lack of strength could be exposed.
Point is, for the most acclaimed of the recruits in a heralded Michigan State freshman class, joining this particular MSU roster is likely to be of tremendous benefit. On this team, Booker can show flashes of being the unicorn he is — with skills and length and athleticism that separate him — without yet being accountable for the winning and losing, without having to produce in ways he’s not ready.
The plan is to play Booker at power forward, meaning he’ll be behind Hall, but not in a battle for minutes as much with centers Mady Sissoko, Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper. Booker won’t be able to match Hall’s seasoning and acumen, but when he’s in the game, his 6foot-11 frame, 7-5 wingspan, long strides in the open floor and bouncy athleticism around the rim will set him apart and make him useful, even as he makes mistakes.
MSU fans who didn’t see Booker play at the Moneyball Pro-Am last summer can get their first look at his game during Michigan State Madness, beginning at 9:30 Friday night at Breslin Center. Doors open at 8. Admission is free.
Booker’s skills are obvious. Same for his upside. But everyone in the program is cautious about over-inflating expectations for a player who’s as much a developmental prospect as he is a blue-chipper.
“He’s got a ways to go,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said. “He’s got to get stronger. He’s got to get more aggressive. But since school started, he’s really starting to take a step in the right direction and I give Mady, Malik, Kohler and Cooper credit for that. They’ve been unbelievable with him.”
Booker touts himself as someone who “can block shots, someone who’s taller who likes to shoot 3s” and can “rim-run” in transition.
“Offensively he’s going to be a weapon,” said Cooper, who’s also 6-11, though with a slightly shorter wingspan. “He can shoot the crap out of ball and, with his length, it’s so tough to play over him with what he can do. You don’t think he’s there and then you try to shoot (and) he’s just grabbing it out of the air. And I think that’s what’s going to be his mark on this team. It’s
going to be, how he uses his length and if he can shoot the ball that well.”
His length and quick jumping ability ought to make Booker a good rebounder, too. You don’t have to read between the lines too closely to know that’s an area that needs work and an aspect of his game that’s going to drive Izzo crazy.
“I mean he gets on me about a lot,” Booker said of Izzo. “He gets on me about rebounding, blocking out for sure. That’s probably the main thing.”
This has all been an adjustment for him — playing against guys who are as tall and stronger, playing the 4 position instead of just the 5. He doesn’t have to wait for the games to be humbled. That happens in practice.
“In high school (at Indianapolis Cathedral), I wasn’t used to playing against guys who are similar to my height, stronger than me,” Booker
said. “Like Jaxon, he has crazy footwork, great in the post and, like, I’m not going to go against somebody like Jaxon every single night. … That will help me, that will benefit me in the long run.”
In games, the matchups might sometimes be easier for him right now.
“I’m probably going to play against 4s that are anywhere between my height or probably down to like maybe 6-6, 6-7,” Booker said. “So definitely, I can take advantage of that, in terms of being in the post, going inside and also being outside as well.”
He’ll have Hall to lean on — a player who’s the adult in the room, someone who’s dealt with disappointment and injuries and every imaginable matchup, and who’s been a part of MSU’s program since Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman were on the court.
“He’s been my hugest kind of support
system, through it all,” Booker said of Hall. “He’s definitely been there for me, just staying with me. Certain things, like making certain reads and knowing where to be and everything. He’s been there for me, helped me out every step of the way.”
If Booker had arrived a year ago, there would have been pressure on him to be THE center. If he’d arrived with MSU’s last great recruiting class, in 2016, he would have been the center, with no one on the roster to show him the ropes.
Instead, a young player who perhaps needs some time to just be intriguing before he’s consistently productive, will get all the time he needs.
It’s a rare roster in that sense. Ideal in a lot of ways. Especially for Booker.