Michigan State’s Xavier Booker talks about his role next season

The Michigan State men’s basketball team has several players looking to take the next step next season.

Fans’ expectations are probably highest for second-year center Xavier Booker, a key big man for the Spartans who can stretch the field.

Booker began to gain momentum on the final stretch of the Spartans’ 2024 season.

“I feel like I’ve always been very confident,” Booker told Spartan Nation on Thursday at the 2024 Moneyball Pro-Am. “I feel like I’ve just gotten used to the game, to college basketball. Obviously, I was a freshman, I’m new to it. I feel like I’ve gotten more used to it as the season has gone on.”

With Booker already having one season under his belt, he is expected to play a much larger role in the 2024-25 season.

“I mean, Coach (Tom Izzo) has identified me as one of the most important players on the team next year — me and Jaden (Akins),” Booker said. “He’s identified me and Jaden as one of the most important scorers on the team, some of the most important players.”

Booker is a unique college basketball center who can challenge opponents from anywhere on the court. In preparation for next season, the Spartan sophomore has continued to work on rounding out his game.

“I’ve been working on a little bit of everything. Obviously I’ve been getting stronger in the weight room, I’ve been working on my game, my shot,” Booker said. “I’ve been working a lot more on my post game, moves in the post and just being deep and physical in the post. And also my ball handling.”

As a freshman, Booker started twice in 27 games and averaged 3.7 points per game, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 blocks while averaging 9.2 minutes of playing time.

Booker, a five-star center from Indianapolis, Indiana, was ranked as Indiana’s top recruit of the 2023 class according to 247Sports overall rankings, is the second-best center in the nation and the 14th-best prospect in the nation.

Next season will be crucial for Booker, as he arguably has the most potential of any Spartan on the roster.

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