Tom Izzo made the decision to bench Xavier Booker after just seven minutes against Indiana. Was this the right choice?
Xavier Booker’s playing time, or lack thereof, has been one of the biggest storylines of the season. His playing time has been slightly improving recently, but many fans still think Booker should get more from Tom Izzo.
Booker made his second career start in Michigan State’s loss to Indiana, but he only played seven minutes. Usually it makes no sense when Booker disappears from the lineup, but did Izzo make the right decision this time?
Was Tom Izzo right to not play Booker against Indiana?
As I mentioned, Booker got the start against Indiana but only played seven minutes. This almost never happens for a starter at any level unless the player gets hurt or is in foul trouble. Neither happened to Booker, so should we be upset by him not playing much?
I’ve been a huge advocate that Booker has needed to play more for Michigan State this year, but I think Tom Izzo made the correct choice this time. In Booker’s seven minutes played, the only stat he recorded was one foul. He missed the one shot he took and failed to get an assist or rebound. He even didn’t record any defensive stats either.
Most of Booker’s minutes also came in the beginning of the game when Indiana jumped to a 17-point lead. The Spartan comeback, which ultimately came up just short, came with Booker on the bench. So when you combine his lack of production with the team doing much better without him, I think Izzo was correct in keeping Booker on the bench.
Even though Izzo made the right call this time, this doesn’t mean he shouldn’t play more going forward. If the matchup is right and Booker’s playing well, then he needs to get a majority of the post minutes. We all know Booker’s ceiling is higher than MSU’s other post players, so he needs to play a lot for the Spartans to reach their potential.
But Izzo can’t force it when it comes to Booker’s playing time. So if he’s struggling or the team is doing better without him, then maybe benching Booker is the correct call in the future as well.
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