(2023) - C Xavier Booker to Michigan State

[IU Scott]

Watching the Cathedral and Westfield game and after 1 Westfield is up 17-14.  Booker has 9 on 3-4 from 3 and he sure is a good shooter.  Just not real aggressive on the boards or defense.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Per MaxPreps he's 14-31 (45%) on 3s this season thru 8 games.

[IU Scott]

So far the Cathedral team is sleep walking through this game. They have 8 turnovers and just letting Westfield drive right to the basket

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Westfield basically ran Cathedral out of the gym for a 74-63 win.  Trevor Andershock reported Booker with 12 pts and 2 reb with 9 of his points on 3-3s in the first quarter.  Cathedral got down by as many as 25 points before mounting a comeback effort all the while with Booker on the bench.  If the pace of this game was too much for him, hard to see him playing in the B1G.

[Stuhoo]

13 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Westfield basically ran Cathedral out of the gym for a 74-63 win.  Trevor Andershock reported Booker with 12 pts and 2 reb with 9 of his points on 3-3s in the first quarter.  Cathedral got down by as many as 25 points before mounting a comeback effort all the while with Booker on the bench.  If the pace of this game was too much for him, hard to see him playing in the B1G.

Yuck

[HoosierHoops1]

20 hours ago, Hoosierfanyuh said:

Yall can complain ab him all you want but if he commits to IUBB woody will fix whatever needs to be fixed asap or he wont see the court. Dont see why you guys are all so frustrated. 

We want guys who see the court.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Final stats in the Westfield game from MaxPreps.  20 min. of court time; 12 pts; 3 reb; 0 asst; 0 stl; 3 blk; 4 TO.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Cathedral was supposed to play La Lumiere yesterday in the Max Jelks Invitational in northwest Indiana but LaLu canceled around 2 hours before tipoff.  Organizers were able to round up West Gary Lighthouse as an opponent but it was far from the same caliber of an opponent as Cathedral won 84-39.  Booker played just 18 min. scoring 13 pts. on 5-9 FG; 2-5 on 3s; 1-2 FT; 7 reb; 1 asst; 0 stl; 5 blk; 1 TO.  Score was 26-10 after the 1st Q and the game was effectively over.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Last night Cathedral over Mishawaka Marian 85-61.  Booker 23 pts. on 9-18 FG; 3-6 on 3s; 2-4 FT; 10 reb; 1 asst; 0 stl; 2 blk; 5 TO.  Marian had no one to match up with him in height.

[Gnet550]

1 hour ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Last night Cathedral over Mishawaka Marian 85-61.  Booker 23 pts. on 9-18 FG; 3-6 on 3s; 2-4 FT; 10 reb; 1 asst; 0 stl; 2 blk; 5 TO.  Marian had no one to match up with him in height.

Yuck....I know 23 and 10....but if they had no height to matchup and it took him 18 shots to get 23, plus he had 5 TOs....not good in my opinion

[Demo]

21 minutes ago, Gnet550 said:

Yuck....I know 23 and 10....but if they had no height to matchup and it took him 18 shots to get 23, plus he had 5 TOs....not good in my opinion

Yeah. He had no matchup at all. But, I will say this, his activity and engagement were better than they often are.

[BtownStrength]

33 minutes ago, Demo said:

Yeah. He had no matchup at all. But, I will say this, his activity and engagement were better than they often are.

Are activity and engagement the biggest issues with him as a prospect? How does he project otherwise?

[Demo]

21 minutes ago, BtownStrength said:

Are activity and engagement the biggest issues with him as a prospect? How does he project otherwise?

Easily the biggest issues. Physically, he’s a high major guy, no doubt. He needs skill development, which would be no big deal if the desire was obviously there.. But, you have to believe you can find his on switch. Right now it ain’t on.

[Uspshoosier]

He is at the game today 

[Stuhoo]

5 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

He is at the game today 

Does not compute.  ;)

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

On Saturday, New Albany (14-2) defeated Cathedral (14-5) 48-46.  Booker 4 pts. all in the first half.

[Stuhoo]

33 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

On Saturday, New Albany (14-2) defeated Cathedral (14-5) 48-46.  Booker 4 pts. all in the first half.

#crushingit

#coachlovesme

[GloryDays]

6 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

#crushingit

#coachlovesme

#beastmode

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Stockrisers.com

I made a trip down to Indy on Jan. 24 for the Indianapolis City Championship, thinking it was going to be headlined by Top-100 junior Xavier Booker. Unfortunately, Booker saw limited minutes in the win for Cathedral Prep. 

But man, in the limited minutes for the 6’10, 210-pound forward, his major potential and freak athleticism were put on display. I watched the Indiana big man on multiple occasions including last Spring and this past Summer, and most recently after seeing his limited minutes in that championship game, Booker has also made some huge physical improvements.

He looked like he added a few more pounds and looked even more versatile running down the floor.

Yes, I would’ve loved to see more game action for the Top-100 prospect, but, it was good to see that he’s in the weight room getting his body right as the end of the season is near and AAU ball is approaching for the talented junior. 

With Cathedral being very balanced this year, Booker has seen 19.4 minutes of game action per game and is still putting up very nice numbers which include 12.5 points and nearly 6.5 rebounds per game. College coaches are extremely interested in the dynamic four-man and the list of schools continues to grow.

He most recently saw himself on Indiana’s campus, as well as Notre Dame’s campus, both were visits of the unofficial capacity. It’s currently TBD as to when Booker will begin taking his official visits, but, he dove into that in his interview with Stockrisers.com.

---

Which schools are heavily involved in your recruitment?

“Notre Dame, Indiana, Xavier, Michigan, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Purdue, and Illinois.”

Any new schools?

“Not right now. I expect it to pick up during the summer.”

What’s Indiana’s pitch and your relationship with Mike Woodson?

“The pitch really is them wanting me to just keep developing my body and my skills and just growing as an individual. They want me ready as soon as I come in (not committed) and they talk all the time about how they need a big who can space the floor, put it on the floor, shoot, defend, and of course finish. They think I would fit in perfectly. My relationship with Coach Woodson is pretty good, he checks in on me every week and he calls me sometimes, they are normally great conversations.”

Notre Dame’s pitch?

“It’s pretty much the exact same thing [As Indiana] but, I really like and have a great relationship with Coach Soloman, the assistant coach, and Coach Brey as well.”

Is Michigan State still heavily involved?

“They are heavily involved, as well. Coach Montgomery reaches out the most and Coach Izzo reaches out sometimes as well.”

Current visit plans?

“I don’t have any scheduled as of now but I will start taking officials when my season is over.”

A full breakdown of your game?

“I would say I’m a stretch-four type of big. I like to shoot the three and my mid-range pull-up is becoming really good. I like putting the ball on the floor, I can break my defender down really well for someone my height. I’m a very good playmaker also, I see the floor very well and know how to set my teammates up. My post-game is pretty strong too. When I’m attacking the rim I rarely ever get stopped because I use my height and length to my advantage. My IQ is going up over time and as I learn more about the game and learn how to deal with certain situations, but, I would say I have a pretty high IQ.”

Goals for AAU basketball this year?

“Just improve my game in every aspect. I'm good at a lot of thing but you can always be better and I am going to be working to earn more offers from schools like Duke and Kentucky. Also, just getting stronger physically.”

Early commitment timeline?

“Undecided right now, but, probably when I just know the time is right.”

What are you looking for in a college program?

“Somewhere I know I’ll fit into every aspect of the school. I want to have a family type of bond with the coaches and players and I wanna go somewhere where I know I’ll be able to play right away. Obviously, it takes work, but just a coach who believes in my ability and lets me play my game, and doesn’t limit me. Also somewhere the education is very high level.”

[Stuhoo]

20 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

 

What are you looking for in a college program?

“Somewhere I know I’ll fit into every aspect of the school. I want to have a family type of bond with the coaches and players and I wanna go somewhere where I know I’ll be able to play right away. Obviously, it takes work, but just a coach who believes in my ability and lets me play my game, and doesn’t limit me. Also somewhere the education is very high level.”

 

 

If this is a priority he should change high schools.