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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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#4. Auburn Tigers

The biggest reason why I rank the Tigers as the fourth best fit for Xavier Booker is due to the recent success that was proven by the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Jabari Smith Jr. He thrived at Auburn under Bruce Pearl, which is something that will be intriguing to a prospect like Booker as he makes his decision for where he’s going for (likely) one season.

While Auburn does have many big men on their roster that have a similar frame to Booker, the skillset and scoring ability from all three levels are different. Johni Broome, Morehead State transfer, will likely be with the Tigers for at least two more seasons, which doesn’t mean this affects Booker all too much because they could play together. But that does take the front court scoring from Booker, as he is most likely looking to be the primary front court scorer on whatever college program he decides on. Besides Michigan State, I believe Auburn is the biggest threat to Indiana basketball in the Xavier Booker commitment competition due to Bruce Pearl’s player-first coaching style.

#3. Michigan Wolverines

Following this season, Hunter Dickinson likely will be heading to the NBA Draft, which leaves the spot open for Xavier Booker to come in and take over as the scoring big man on the Wolverines roster, learning under Juwan Howard and his strong coaching staff. Witnessing the success and attraction from NBA teams for guys like Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate from the 2022 NBA Draft gives a one-and-done player like Booker wide eyes when looking at Michigan as a potential landing spot.

The one problem that will have to be dealt with if Booker ends up going to Ann Arbor is the clashing of play-styles from Terrance Williams II, Jett Howard, and even Tarris Reed Jr. In my opinion, I do believe that Booker will end up in the Big Ten; the only question at the end of the day is what city will he call home for one season? I don’t think he will end up at Michigan, but that’s another big threat to Indiana basketball as Booker will announce his finalists in the coming weeks/months.

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