Where MSU's Xavier Booker Stands 12 Games into Year 2

Michigan State sophomore forward Xavier Booker was the Spartans' most highly touted incoming freshman in the last few years.

The former five-star was anticipated by many to be the next best Spartan, mentioned in the same breath as names like Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson Jr.

Now 12 games into his sophomore season, most of those same spectators are probably viewing Booker's young career to be underwhelming.

As a freshman, he saw the court in just 27 games and averaged less than 10 minutes a contest.

This year, Booker was taken out of the starting lineup after just three games and is currently averaging just the eighth most minutes on the team.

It's easy to look at the surface and say the young Spartan hasn't met expectations.

But expectations are just that: expectations. Every player develops at their own pace -- they're not always going to be who you envisioned them being.

"I think he [Booker] understands the process," said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo when he addressed the media on Saturday. "I don't think he's doing anything on purpose. I've said it to you guys, I've said it to my team -- you could ask a player from Mateen [Cleaves] to Draymond [Green] to Cassius [Winston] to these guys -- hardest thing to do is self-evaluate. So, some guys, it takes longer, and some guys, it takes longer to trust the people telling them. ... His strength is starting to pick up, starting to learn how to play with the extra weight. Those things are all part of the process.

"So where do I think it is? Of course I want it to be faster, and I know he wants it to be faster. But the one thing I'll give Book a lot of credit for, man, his parents, too, is Book, he came here, and everybody was talking one-and-done. I mean, outside world, not inside world. [He] never, never talked about it. Never. I mean, I know what his goals are. I know what he wants to do. But it wasn't like, 'Oh, I gotta be out here in a year.' He's done phenomenally well in the classroom, so that's not an issue.

"So, we're trying to push the pedal a little bit. I think he's starting to figure out that he needs to push the pedal a little bit. But I also think he's learning that there's things that he's done that he's gotten better at, and now if he can keep doing them, he can be a special player."

Booker has slowly but surely grown into the asset the Spartans need him to be. Prior to Michigan State's latest win over Florida Atlantic, he had posted four straight games with double-figures in scoring, including a career-high 18-point outing against Oakland. In that four-game stretch, Booker made a total of seven 3-pointers.

Booker's rebounding has improved as well, as he has averaged five rebounds in his last five games.

It's taking time, but Booker is blossoming.

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