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NCAA Basketball: Ranking the finalists for 5-star class of 2023 big Xavier Booker

By Tristan Freeman

Feb 13, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo talks to forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (30) during the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 13, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo talks to forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (30) during the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /
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Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis Iu Wu Bb Ff 2h Tjd 3
Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis Iu Wu Bb Ff 2h Tjd 3 /

Gonzaga Bulldogs

Few programs outside of Duke and Kentucky have done as well with developing big men as Gonzaga, with Domantas Sabonis and Brandon Clarke as the most recent examples that are in the NBA. Current starter and All-American Drew Timme is back for one more year but there’s a chance that Booker can just easily slide in right after he’s gone.

The center position isn’t empty with the Bulldogs though. LSU transfer and former five-star recruit Efton Reid won’t be a pushover to start there, while Kaden Perry will have fully recovered from back surgery by the time Booker would potentially arrive. It’s not to say that he’d be afraid of the competition but why venture out west to the WCC when he could stay in the Big Ten world and start?

Indiana Hoosiers

The Hoosiers have one of the best frontcourts in NCAA Basketball next season with forwards Race Thompson and Trayce Jackson-Davis. Thompson will have moved on by then, while Jackson-Davis is very likely going pro if he has another all-conference season. That leaves incoming five-star freshman Malik Reneau to play power forward, while the center position would be up for grabs.

A frontcourt pairing of Reneau and Booker may have even more potential than what Thompson and Jackson-Davis have done at Indiana. It would be a great combo that would keep the program in contention. And assuming Jalen Hood-Schifino sticks around for another year, the Hoosiers with Booker would be Big Ten contenders easily.

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