Tom Izzo spoke to the media this week about the development of Xavier Booker and the help he’s gotten from the team.
Michigan State fans were very excited when Xavier Booker committed to MSU, and rightfully so. He was a five-star out of high school and the No. 11 player in his class. It’s not very often we get a player of his caliber, but Booker is a little different compared to your average five-star.
The coaching staff and MSU insiders made it clear that Booker would be a work in progress. He wouldn’t be someone that would come in and dominate from day one. That doesn’t mean that Booker’s a bad player, he just needs more time to get acclimated to college ball.
Tom Izzo discussed recently how his development is going. Specifically how the rest of the team has been helping him and coaching him up.
Tom Izzo discusses his teams help in developing Booker
The best teams in basketball are always the “player coached” teams. This means that players hold each other accountable and push each other to get better, not needing the motivation to always come from the coaches. That’s exactly what it sounds like this team is, especially with Xavier Booker.
Izzo was asked about Booker’s development and he had this response.
This is amazing to hear about the team. Izzo shared this specifically regarding other players helping Booker improve his game:
“It shows you two things. The love they have for him and, the fact they know that if he get’s that light on, he’s gonna be a hell of a player.”
Tom even specifically pointed out Tyson Walker and Malik Hall helping Booker out the most recently. This team knows the value the Booker can bring to this team. He is that extra piece that can really take our team over the top. But for each of our players, who have their own individual skills they need to work on, to take the time to help out their teammate, that is exactly what you want to hear about your team.
Tom also shared that, “I’d like to see him (Booker) somewhere else with a staff and players who spend as much time with him as we do.”
This again just reiterates how much help the coaching staff and other players are giving him. We all know how great of a culture we have at MSU, and this just further validates that point.
Xavier Booker season in review
So far this season, Xavier Booker is averaging 4.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. His best game by far came against Stony Brook where he had career highs in points (11) and rebounds (7).
The skill set is clearly there for Booker on the offensive end, but it’s the other side of the court where he struggles at times. Defensively he seems a little slow and he occasionally doesn’t seem strong enough rebounding the ball. These are the two things that likely are the reason he hasn’t seen the floor as much as everyone expected.
But it sounds like both he, the rest of the team and the coaching staff are working hard to help him improve. I have no doubts he’ll be ready to contribute in a big way next season, but I just hope this extra help pays off later this season.
More must-reads: