Class of 2023 priority recruit Xavier Booker narrowed his list of prospective schools from 30+ to 10 on Monday afternoon, and the Gonzaga Bulldogs remain in the hunt for their next unicorn.
Booker is a six-foot-ten forward from Indianapolis. He comes in at No. 3 on 247Sports rankings for the class of 2023, and he possesses guard-like ball-handling skills and outside shooting, as well as rim protection on the other end of the floor – reminiscent of Gonzaga’s highest rated recruit of all-time, Chet Holmgren.
That no doubt plays a factor into Gonzaga’s placement on Booker’s top ten list, a list that also includes Oregon, Purdue, Ohio State, Auburn, Cincinnati, Michigan State, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Indiana.
Booker shared thoughts with On3 about each of the ten teams on his list, and he spoke about the comparisons to Holmgren as well as his relationship with Gonzaga’s coaching staff.
“I’ve grown to develop a really good relationship with coach (Mark) Few, coach (Stephen) Gentry, coach (Roger) Powell and the whole coaching staff. They’re all really good dudes, down to heart for sure. I really like the conference they’re in. They compare me to Chet (Holmgren) and I see the similarities. We have a similar frame, almost the same height, and pretty much the same skillset. We are obviously different in our own ways but I definitely see the resemblance there. I really like what they’re doing with their program. They’ve had a lot of guys similar to me come out of there in one or two years (and go to the NBA) so I definitely think it’s somewhere I could strive in.”
Xavier Booker to Joe Tipton
Booker would be another huge addition for Mark Few and his staff out on the recruiting trail, and would help quiet concerns about the loss of Tommy Lloyd and the relatively quiet additions so far in 2022 and 2023.
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Writer – Ducks Wire