Michigan State basketball: Tom Izzo needs to play Xavier Booker more

Michigan State basketball has a need for an offensive post presence and that’s exactly what Xavier Booker could be.

Xavier Booker has become a huge topic surrounding the Michigan State basketball season. Fans want to see the newest Spartan five-star play more and are confused why he isn’t. The media is constantly asking Tom Izzo why Booker isn’t playing more. Izzo has even commented without being asked that he wants to play Booker more.

So what’s the hold up? I know that what the fans and media say doesn’t matter to Izzo, and it shouldn’t, but Izzo has said countless times that he wants Booker to play more. Clearly he doesn’t actually want to play him more, but here’s why I would give Booker more minutes.

Expansion of the offense

The Spartans’ 88-80 win over Illinois is the perfect example of why Booker needs to play more. He brings something to the offensive end of the floor that no other big on the MSU team does. Booker is able to stretch the defense to the 3-point line because he is able to hit those deep shots. Jaxon Kohler can hit from the mid-range, but even he can’t step out from beyond the arc.

Illinois on Saturday played defense against the MSU bigs in a new way. Whenever Mady Sissoko or Carson Cooper had the ball outside of the lane, they completely sagged off them. They know they aren’t a threat unless they’re on the block, so there’s no need to guard them. That made it hard for the MSU guards to drive into the lane or get post up opportunities for non-post players like Malik Hall and AJ Hoggard.

But if MSU throws Booker in there, that changes everything. The defense has to step out and guard him on the perimeter or else he’ll make them pay. That opens up a lot more space for the MSU offense to cut, drive and dish out some easy assists.

This exact reason is why Xavier Booker led MSU in +/- in their loss to Minnesota last week.

Growth for the future

Booker can’t get better if he doesn’t see any playing time. Sure he can improve a lot in practice and in the weight room, but he can’t reach his maximum potential unless he’s on the court. So him riding the bench stunts his growth.

We all knew Booker wasn’t going to be the star of this team heading into the season. But we all hope he will be next year. With all the players that will depart after this season, many guys will have to step up and fill their shoes. Booker will be one of those guys next year, so why not allow him to grow into that role a little now?

Fear of transferring

Let me preface by saying this isn’t something I’m fearful of. The only reason I bring it up is because I see some fans discussing it on social media. But if Xavier isn’t happy at Michigan State, for whatever reason, he could just transfer when the season ends. This would be the worst possible scenario in my eyes, because I think Booker is going to explode onto the scene next season.

Even though I don’t have this fear, I do still think it’s valid. The transfer portal is uncontrollable and anything is possible when it opens up. So why risk next year’s star player leaving because he’s upset with the minutes he’s getting? Isn’t giving him just 3-4 more minutes per game an easy solution?

If Booker does decide to transfer I still won’t have any regrets. If he doesn’t want to be here after a little adversity then he doesn’t belong at a historic program like Michigan State basketball. But the fear of him transferring is definitely something to consider.

The Spartans next game is at Penn State Wednesday night. Will Booker finally get some more playing time? I hope it happens, but I just hope it comes in meaningful minutes and not at the end of the game if the Spartans are winning by a lot.