Hoosiers Now

Five-Star Cathedral Forward Xavier Booker Visits Indiana Wednesday

Cathedral High School forward Xavier Booker, a consensus five-star recruit, has been one of the fastest risers in the class of 2023. He has recent offers from Duke and Gonzaga, but the 6-foot-11 versatile big man will take an unofficial visit to Indiana on Wednesday.

Jack Ankony

It's a big day for head coach Mike Woodson and the Indiana coaching staff with one of the top players in the class of 2023 in Bloomington.

Xavier Booker will take an unofficial visit to Indiana on Wednesday. The Cathedral High School forward has gone from just inside the top 100 to a consensus top-five player in his class over the last few months. At 6-foot-11, Booker is a five-star recruit possessing the shooting ability, fluid movement and dominance in the paint that has caused his recruitment to blow up in recent weeks playing AAU basketball with George Hill All Indy.

Booker has received offers from Gonzaga, Duke, USC, Memphis, Auburn and Oregon all since the start of June. The majority of the Big Ten has been involved with his recruitment for a while, and he also holds offers from Kansas, Arizona and Notre Dame, among others, as well as interest from Kentucky. 

Booker took his first visit to Michigan State in April, and he's garnered national attention ever since. In an interview with Stock Risers, Booker said it has been hard to set a commitment date or cut down his list of schools because new offers keep coming in. 

He was recently named MVP of the 2022 Pangos All-American Camp, a three-day, invite-only camp featuring some of the top high school basketball players in the country. Recent MVP winners include Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Jalen Duren, Bradley Beal, James Harden and Russell Westbrook. 

“Really I’m just an all-around big," Booker told Stock Risers. "I can provide anything for the team. Shooting, being aggressive around the rim, defense, playmaking. Whatever it takes to provide my team a win, I can perform on high levels.”

Booker also said the G-League has reached out to him, and he'll consider the professional route as his recruitment continues. 

As a junior, Booker led Cathedral High School to the 2022 Indiana Class 4A State Championship, averaging 12.5 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 34 percent from 3. 

Wednesday will be Booker's second visit to Indiana University.

“I learned a lot about the campus atmosphere and the academic side," Booker said in an interview with On3 after his first visit to Indiana. "I already knew about them athletically; they are a good program. They have a new coach, Coach (Mike) Woodson. He is a really down-to-earth dude who cares about his team. I got an inside look and met with people on the campus and academic advisors.”

Booker's visit represents a big opportunity for Woodson to continue the recruiting momentum he built in his first recruiting cycle as a college head coach. Woodson gained commitments from two five-star recruits in the class of 2022 to complete a top-10 class, and now he has one of the top players on campus for a second visit.  

If Booker chooses Indiana, he would join a 2023 class that currently includes four-star, top-100 guards Jakai Newton and Gabe Cupps. 

Stories related to Indiana basketball:

  • TREY GALLOWAY UNDERGOES GROIN SURGERY: Indiana's third-year guard Trey Galloway underwent groin surgery on Tuesday, and the timetable for his recovery is unknown at this point. Galloway averaged 5.5 points for Indiana last season. CLICK HERE
  • C.J. GUNN WINS MVP OF INDIANA-KENTUCKY ALL-STAR SERIES: C.J. Gunn scored 41 points across two games on his way to earning MVP honors at the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star Series. The Lawrence North product will begin his freshman year at Indiana University this fall as part of Mike Woodson's top-10 recruiting class. CLICK HERE
  • FOUR-STAR ASA NEWELL VISITS INDIANA: Four-star recruit Asa Newell is taking an unofficial visit to Indiana University on Monday. At 6-foot-9, Newell is ranked inside the top 50 for the class of 2024. Newell will play for Montverde Academy during the 2022-2023 season. CLICK HERE
  • FOUR-STAR JAMIE KAISER CONSIDERING IU: Jamie Kaiser Jr., the No. 77 player in the class of 2023, announced his top 9 schools on Sunday. The 6-foot-6 small forward from Bishop Ireton High School will decide between Virginia, Indiana, Miami (FL), Boston College, Iowa, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Maryland and Wisconsin. CLICK HERE
Published
Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation writer for HoosiersNow.com. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism. Follow on Twitter @ankony_jack.

Home/Basketball