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Indiana basketball: 2023 Five-star Xavier Booker includes IU in top 10 schools

By Connor O’Keefe

Cathedral basketball player Xavier Booker, at home with his parents Fred and Demetric Booker, in Fishers, Tuesday, April 19, 2022.
Cathedral basketball player Xavier Booker, at home with his parents Fred and Demetric Booker, in Fishers, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. /
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#6. Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes have not had a truly dominant NBA-ready center who can take over games since Jared Sullinger led Ohio State to the Final Four in 2012. Xavier Booker could be that guy for the Buckeyes for the 2023-24 season. Ohio State finished the 2022 recruiting class ranked seventh overall with two four-star forward commitments (Felix Okpara and Brice Sensabaugh) and a commitment from four-star forward Austin Parks from the 2023 class.

Coach Chris Holtmann seems to be doing well in the recruiting department as he could end up with two straight recruiting classes ranking in the top 10 nationally (2022 and 2023), along with a very successful offseason from the transfer portal. The Buckeyes will be competing late in the postseason this upcoming season based on transfers and Holtmann’s coaching abilities; this will only give more fuel for Booker to end up in Columbus. As of right now, it’s not anticipated that Ohio State ends up in the top five finalists for Booker.

#5. Gonzaga Bulldogs

While the Zags will be competing for a national title this season, Drew Timme will be out of Spokane and onto professional basketball after the season and Mark Few will be starting at square one with returning players Rasir Bolton and Julian Strawther also most likely onto the NBA Draft. Few’s only “high-ranked” recruit that he was able to bring in for 2022-23 was three-star forward Braden Huff from Glenbard West High School in Illinois. But Few was also able to snag redshirt senior guard Malachi Smith (transfer from Chattanooga) and sophomore center Efton Reid (transfer from LSU) from the ever-so-popular transfer portal.

While it may seem like good timing with the exit from Chet Holmgren and likely exit from Drew Timme, Xavier Booker coming in as a freshman and having to compete with Efton Reid, Anton Watson, among others for the head of the offense in a not-so competitive conference might deter him away from the Bulldogs when all is said and done.

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