Michigan State basketball: As expected, Xavier Booker enters portal

In the midst of a tumultuous day for Michigan State basketball which had already seen Tre Holloman and Gehrig Normand enter the transfer portal, the Xavier Booker news broke around 3 p.m. ET and provided news that fans were already expecting. 

Michigan State forward Xavier Booker plans to enter the Transfer Portal @On3sports is told.

The 6-11 sophomore from Indianapolis is a former McDonald’s All-American.https://t.co/RlHeJEHezo pic.twitter.com/1LIOXxe0aC

— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) April 1, 2025

During the Spartans’ tournament run Booker did not see the floor outside of three minutes against Bryant. Because of this lack of playing time that carried throughout the season, it may not come as a surprise to see Booker in the portal. Regardless, it would’ve been great to see it work out for Xavier in the Green and White.

The day Booker committed to Michigan State, expectations were sky high. He came in as a unanimous five-star, ranking as the 14th overall player in the class of 2023 according to 247Sports. Booker was a 6-foot-10 forward with massive potential and a modernized offensive game. There were concerns about Booker being physically undersized, yet programs were willing to take the development of Xavier with open arms to get a player of his caliber.

As do the vast majority of freshmen in the Tom Izzo era, Booker had to earn his playing time. As last year’s team struggled, many fans voiced discontent with Booker’s lack of minutes. The narrative was that he was not defensively ready for the grueling Big Ten style of play. Xavier concluded his freshman season averaging 9.3 minutes, 3.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, and half of a block per game. The campaign was highlighted by an 11-point, two-rebound performance in a close March loss in Mackey Arena.

Even last year because of the landscape of college basketball, there was plenty of speculation surrounding a second Booker season in East Lansing. However, he trusted the coach and program he committed to, returning for his sophomore season.

The word from the summer was that Booker had gained weight, and was ready for a sophomore jump. Through the first seven games of the season Booker was getting significant playing time. He averaged 15 minutes per game in that span and was beginning to look more comfortable. Games 8-11 of this season were the best four games of Booker for the Spartans. To ignite the 13-game win streak that Michigan State basketball enjoyed in the middle of the season, Booker came up huge in a victory over North Carolina. He scored 12 points (four of which came in overtime), grabbed seven rebounds, and provided a key momentum-swing in a lead-taking dunk over none other than newest Michigan basketball commit, Elliot Cadeau.

This team is so much different if this is the Xavier Booker we get. He just won this basketball game. And this poster was NASTY.pic.twitter.com/4Fl5b3w5GU

— Dylan Terpstra (@dterp_13) November 28, 2024

He built off of this momentum with 11 points versus Minnesota, (3-of-4 from deep), 11 points and six boards against Nebraska, and culminated with his career-high of 18 points against Oakland. In that Oakland game, he shot 3-for-5 from three, adding six rebounds and a block. This was the Xavier Booker that all Michigan State basketball fans had been waiting to see.

From that point on, Booker’s production decreased. By the middle of the conference schedule Booker was back to playing sparingly. He never scored more than three points in a game after Feb. 4, when he scored six in the loss to UCLA.

The biggest concern with Booker was always his defense. Unfortunately, it seems he never developed in that area the way the coaches had hoped he would. Booker’s minutes continued to decrease, until he was out of the lineup entirely for the NCAA tournament.

Xavier Booker’s Spartan tenure did not end the way he or fans wanted. That’s OK. Xavier has all the potential in the world, and we wish him the best for the rest of his career. It will be interesting to see where he lands, but he feels as though he could make a massive impact in his remaining two years.

Thank you, Xavier, for your time spent in East Lansing. You showed up to work every day, even though things weren’t going your way. In the modern era, it is easy to verbalize negativity about playing time or your coaches. You didn’t. Thank you for your time, SD4L.

Go Green.