PHILADELPHIA — There was no consensus when it got here to Xavier Booker’s biggest impression.
His 4 blocks in leading UCLA’s rim safety throughout its NCAA Tournament opener?
“I would say the blocks, for sure,” Booker mentioned late Friday.
His work on the boards in opposition to UCF?
“I was mostly happy with his eight rebounds,” Bruins coach Mick Cronin mentioned, referring to a complete that matched Booker’s season excessive.
His willpower to stick with each Knights participant step for step, stopping them from attending to the basket?
“Just to see his activity tonight, especially in a game like this, it’s huge for us,” UCLA guard Trent Perry mentioned.
There had been no fallacious solutions in assessing Booker’s across-the-board impression as a fill-in starter for Tyler Bilodeau throughout the Bruins’ 75-71 victory at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Booker offered a burst of offense with 15 factors to go together with these rebounds and blocks, each one of many heart’s contributions powering his short-handed crew. Between Booker and backup Steven Jamerson II (two factors), the Bruins big males matched Bilodeau’s common of 17 factors.
“I feel like I just stayed within myself,” Booker mentioned. “Obviously, Coach wants me to rebound a lot better, and I feel like that’s my main focus going into these games — just rebounding, defending and blocking shots.”
Booker mentioned he came upon early within the day that he was going to start out after Bilodeau skilled soreness in his injured proper knee, prompting Cronin to carry him out as a protecting measure.
The big man caught along with his regular pregame routine of listening to music in an try to calm his thoughts.
“I feel like sometimes I get too excited and I overthink things,” Booker mentioned, “but I feel like today, you’ve got to know what you’ve got to lock in on, and you can’t overthink it. You’ve just got to go out and play at the end of the day.”
Booker was particularly dominant within the second half, making 4 of 5 pictures. He scored his crew’s first two baskets on a bounce hook and a brief jumper. Taking benefit of the Knights’ small lineup, he grabbed a lob in transition for a dunk and later added a 3-pointer.
“We threw it to him,” Cronin mentioned. “We need that. He’s an offensive player. He can play on that end.”
Cronin mentioned he had joked with Bilodeau that the Bruins might need been higher defensively with out him. Booker might need made the wisecrack come true along with his capability to lock in on that aspect of the courtroom.
With Bilodeau’s standing for his crew’s second-round sport in opposition to UConn on Sunday unsure, the Bruins can stay assured they’ve a wonderful various.
Even although he may rating and rebound, there’s no query the place Booker’s focus can be when he enters his subsequent sport.
“Just being able to defend,” Booker mentioned, “that’s kind of the main thing that Coach wants from me and I want from myself, too.”
