Devin Booker and D’Angelo Russell became fast friends in middle school as two of the top prospects in the nation. They teamed up numerous times but their path diverged after their high-school journey ended. While D’Angelo Russell went to the Ohio State University basketball program, Booker chose Kentucky. On DLo’s The Backyard pod, the two friends recently discussed what shaped their decisions to attend their respective colleges.
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Russell revealed that he committed to the Buckeyes after observing Ohio State football’s team culture, which exuded the essence of the college. Meanwhile, Booker disclosed that he almost ditched Kentucky and was keen on joining Michigan State University. Basketball Hall-of-Fame coach Tom Izzo has been at the helm of its basketball program since 1995, which could have attracted Booker to join them.
But there was an even bigger reason.
D-Book was brought up in Michigan’s Grand Rapids city, the largest one in Kent County. Therefore, a lot of his friends ended up enrolling in Michigan State University, which was a big enough reason why Booker initially thought about going there too.
But he was also allured by the prospects of joining the University of Michigan. The two universities shared an intra-state rivalry across all sports. While Book favored the University of Michigan’s football team, he rooted for Michigan State’s basketball team, which made the decision even harder.
“I was going to Michigan State, that’s where all the childhood friends, homies went. I love Izzo to this day, I didn’t grow fan of one over the other though the rivalry, Michigan, Michigan State… I was Michigan football, Michigan State basketball, all definite frontrunners, all growing up.
“Once they sent me letters, ‘I’m like I’m not picking a side, I got both,’” D-Book added.
In the end, Booker rejected both schools from his home state. He chose the University of Kentucky program despite getting a reduced role there.
Devin Booker had a terrific NCAA career
D-Book just spent one season(2014-15) with the Kentucky Wildcats. Under coach John Calipari’s guidance, the Wildcats finished with a perfect 31-0 Regular season record. However, the Wisconsin Badgers ended their perfect run in the Final Four.
Kentucky had a stacked roster with the 2015 #1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns being its offensive focal point.
The guard rotation was stacked with Tyler Ulis, Andrew Harrison, Devin Booker and Aaron Harrison. Booker accompanied Ulis in the backcourt off the bench as part of the “Platoon” rotation, which made the Wildcats the deepest team at the time.
Booker was wonderful in the bench role. He helped the squad as a floor-spreader and was regularly seen knocking down corner jumpers. Book finished the college season with 10 points per game while shooting 47% from the floor and 41% from the three-point line.
The guard earned the 2015 SEC Sixth Man of the Year honors and also made the SEC All-Freshman team. He could have gotten a much bigger role with the Michigan State Spartans, but chose to play a “3 and D” type of role instead.
Clearly, he became more than a floor-spreader in the NBA, acquiring one of the most versatile offensive skillsets. He surpassed the expectations often placed on a 13th pick, becoming arguably the best player from the 2015 draft class.
