Former Michigan State Spartans power forward Xavier Booker transferred to fellow Big Ten foe, UCLA Bruins, this offseason. He is reportedly going to be a starting piece in a new position and a player that is going to be control the success of one of the most historic programs in college basketball.
CBS Sports college basketball expert Jon Rothstein did a deep dive on Booker and his potential impact for the Bruins this upcoming season on his podcast this week. He had a lot to say regarding the former Spartan forward, saying that he is a major X factor, no pun intended.
“The transfers, perhaps, that is the biggest unknown commodity that will have the biggest impact on his team next season, is Xavier Booker at UCLA, who played two years at Michigan State, but did not have major production for the Spartans,” Rothstein said.
“The 6-11 big man, the lefty, is a former McDonald’s All-American, and this is somebody that will firmly control UCLA’s ceiling during the upcoming season.
“Now, doing a deep dive on Xavier Booker, there’s certain things we have to understand when we’re forecasting his potential impact for the Bruins, who I want to make clear, is a team that I have in the top 10.
” … UCLA needs Xavier Booker to be a factor to have a chance to compete for a Big Ten regular season title and earn a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. That is just a fact of life.”
Rothstein believes UCLA will go as far as Booker takes it and has spoken with the Bruins’ coaching staff, receiving some valuable information regarding a position change that could elevate his game to new heights. It might be the change that Booker needed to finally become a star.
“But when you do the deep dive, Xavier Booker, just one time in two years at Michigan State, played over 20 minutes in a college basketball game,” Rothstein said. “It was in the Maui Invitational, last November, against North Carolina, he had 12 (points) and seven (rebounds),
” … In talking to the UCLA staff, the biggest thing that they showed to me … was the switch in his position. He played straight power forward for Tom Izzo in East Lansing, he will be now the five-man, playing in more space for Mick Cronin and UCLA.”
Booker was a very limited piece for the Big Ten champion Spartans last season, averaging just 4.3 points in 12.9 minutes per game in 33 total games. Rothstein mentioned the standout game that he had against the Tar Heels, but he really was never able to hit his stride following that game in Maui.
It will be interesting to see how Booker’s transition to the West Coast, playing another hard-nosed, traditional coach, is going to be, along with the position change to big man. UCLA lost most of their size to the transfer portal this past season, making Booker’s presence down low a necessity.
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