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

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Irish play in the ACC but is viewed as the “Harvard” of the Midwest when it comes to educational prestige. On the court, head coach Mike Brey has a Hall of Fame resume and has plenty of room for Booker at the center position. The projected starter this season, Nate Laszewski, will be gone, leaving it wide open.

Booker will certainly overpass four-star center Dominick Campbell for minutes if he were to pick Notre Dame. But unless JJ Starling isn’t going anywhere, the team will lose a bunch of seniors besides Laszewski, leaving the big man prospect without much to work with when he would potentially arrive on campus.

Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes have Zed Key for the next two years as the lead frontcourt player but also have landed a couple of centers as of late, including four-star freshman Felix Okpara, as well as top-100 stretch forward/center Austin Parks. This option is interesting because they landed a center in the 2023 class in Parks and have some depth secured.

Of course, on paper, Booker has more potential than either of them and could step in and start on Day 1 unless one truly breaks out. And with head coach Chris Holtmann always able to find and develop quality guards, Ohio State will remain a contender in the Big Ten.