Former NBA player says Xavier Booker has made major progress

Xavier Booker is one of the most talented players in college basketball and a former NBA player says that he’s heard about major progress.

Who do you think is the most important player for Michigan State basketball this season? With so much unknown going into the season there are likely four or five guys you could name.

But the answer is quite simple in my mind: Xavier Booker.

I’m sure we all remember the frustrations we all felt last season when Booker was routinely not getting much playing time. Even if we knew it was for good reason, it was hard to wrap our heads around it.

As we enter July and peak college basketball offseason, it sounds like Booker may be turning a corner.

Spartans' Xavier Booker Improving pic.twitter.com/GlIB7XvYcL

— Stephen Bardo (@stephenbardo) June 30, 2024

Stephen Bardo is a former NBA player from the mid-1990s and recently spoke about Booker and the offseason he is having.

Bardo first spoke about last season and the struggles Booker experienced. He shared, “He (Booker) just needed more experience… Xavier Booker just wasn’t ready.”

As much as that is tough to read, it’s 100 percent the truth. Booker didn’t have the size, muscle, or defensive awareness to thrive on a Tom Izzo-coached basketball team, and that’s why he didn’t play much. On the bright side, however, all of those things can be improved, and that’s exactly what is happening.

Bardo then began discussing this offseason and the outlook for Booker next season, sharing, “But I think he’s (Booker) ready now.” He continued, “The word I’m getting out of Michigan State, he’s made a lot of progress in the spring.”

Keep in mind that we are only in July of the offseason. Bardo has heard that Booker made a ton of progress in the spring, but he still has all summer and fall to improve even more. So if Booker truly did improve a lot during the spring, the sky’s the limit moving forward.

Xavier Booker vastly improving might be the difference between another average season and a Big Ten title. And if what Bardo is saying is accurate, my gut tells me that Michigan State will contend this year.