Former Spartan Xavier Booker looks vastly improved in UCLA debut

Since I’m one of the biggest college basketball sickos out there, I decided to tune in to UCLA’s season opener late on Monday night after watching Michigan State sloppily take care of Colgate.

I tuned in to see former Spartan Xavier Booker with his new team, and I wanted to see if there was any notable improvement in his game. I’m here to report that, yes, Booker did look improved, and he helped lead the Bruins to a win over Eastern Washington, even if it was a disappointing final score.

UCLA entered the game as a nearly 30-point favorite, and Xavier Booker was in the Bruins’ starting lineup after spending his entire Michigan State career coming off the bench.

Booker ended up playing 30 minutes after getting the start against Eastern Washington, and he played well and looked much-improved. He was serviceable on the defensive end of the floor (something he struggled to be in East Lansing) and he was efficient on offense.

The former Spartan big man could still afford to add a few pounds of muscle so he can hang with the Big Ten bigs he will inevitably see this year, but he was efficient.

Booker finished the game with 14 points, a team-high seven rebounds, and he shot 6-for-7 from the field and his only miss was his lone 3-point attempt — he’s learning that he can’t just stand around the 3-point line which is what MSU fans wanted to see for two years.

He’s spending more time around the rim this year.

It’s just one game and it was Eastern Washington, so we’ll see if Booker is able to keep this improvement up throughout the season.