EAST LANSING, Mich. — There is no grudge, no animosity, no hard feelings.
All Xavier Booker has to do to make sure is check his phone.
That’s where he’ll find friendly text messages fromMichigan State’s Coach Tom Izzo. Some light scrolling will reveal congratulatory messages from otherMichigan State Spartansstaffers after the big man put together the best game of his college career earlier this month.
That he did it for theUCLA Bruinsdidn’t bother anyone.
Everybody understood that it was time for a new position and a new school after Booker’s two underwhelming seasons as a Spartan.
“It was definitely a little sad,” Booker told the California Post of his departure. “But we kind of all knew what it was and we all came to an agreement.”
Booker will return to the Breslin Center on Tuesday night as a different player, the changes going well beyond a blue-and-gold uniform.
He’s playing center now, starting for the Bruins. That means there’s less lingering on the perimeter and considerably more manning the middle, fighting for rebounds and serving as the last line of defense. Booker still has permission to shoot 3s, his 41.5% accuracy from long-range ranking as the fourth-best percentage on the team.
It hasn’t been the easiest of transitions, with the converted power forward sometimes struggling to hold his own at a wiry 6 feet 11 and 250 pounds.
“Most nights, you are going to play somebody who is just as strong as you or stronger,” said Booker, who is on the way to setting career highs across the board with averages of 7.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game. “It’s definitely been an adjustment, but I have been getting better every day.”
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
