Mississippi
Germantown All-American Basketball Player Madison Booker Picks Texas, Former Mississippi State Coach Vic Schaefer – Mississippi Scoreboard
By Robert Wilson
Coach Vic Schaefer introduced in highschool All-American gamers like Victoria Vivians to carry Mississippi State girls’s basketball program to new heights, being the nationwide runners-up two consecutive seasons throughout his profitable eight years in Starkville.
Schaefer, now on the College of Texas, obtained a dedication from one other highschool All-American from Mississippi Wednesday.
Germantown Excessive senior Madison Booker – a starter on two consecutive USA nationwide groups and rated the No. 3 participant within the nation within the Class of 2023 – introduced she’s going to play school basketball with Texas and Schaefer Wednesday.
Booker – who was selecting between Texas, Duke, and Tennessee – reached right into a query field and picked out a Texas cowboy hat and flashed the hook’em horns signal with each arms earlier than a crowd of her household, teammates, and college students on the Germantown cafeteria.
“I made a decision on Texas as a result of I belief Coach Schaefer to assist develop me into the very best participant I may be and likewise assist get to the subsequent stage,” Booker mentioned. “I picked Texas additionally as a result of Coach Schaefer is aware of find out how to win.”
Schaefer has led Texas to back-to-back NCAA Match Elite Eight appearances in his first two seasons in Austin. Texas received the Large 12 Match championship and completed ranked No. 6 within the remaining Related Press High 25 ballot. Schaefer was named the nationwide coach of the yr in 2018 and 2022. Texas will probably be becoming a member of the SEC for the 2025-2026 season.
“I’m so enthusiastic about Maddie’s resolution,” Germantown coach Jamie Glasgow mentioned. “I feel the Texas program and training employees will probably be an incredible match for her, I’m not prepared for Maddie to go away us, however I can’t wait to see her play for Texas. I’ve all the time loved talking with Coach Schaefer. He is a superb coach and all the time very skilled. He appears to essentially care about his gamers and is aware of find out how to get essentially the most out of them. I’m excited that Maddie will get to play for him.”
Booker is anticipated to check in November in the course of the NCAA early signing interval.
The 6-foot-1 Booker is likely one of the finest highschool gamers in Mississippi historical past. She began each recreation and helped Workforce USA win the gold medal for the previous two years on the 16-and-under and 17-and-under groups. Booker has been the Precedence One Financial institution/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Participant of the Yr for the previous two seasons as a sophomore and junior. She was the Mississippi Gatorade Participant of the Yr as a sophomore.
Booker is rated No. 3 within the nation within the Class of 2023 by Blue Star Basketball.
Booker averaged 16.6 factors, 7.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and a pair of.1 steals and led Germantown to a 24-7 file and a second straight Ladies State Match look final season as a junior.
Booker – whose father, Carlos, was a 6-10 heart for Southern Miss within the Nineteen Nineties – has made official visits to Duke, Tennessee and Texas. Recruited by nearly all of the very best applications within the nation, Booker narrowed her school selections right down to 9 faculties – Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Connecticut, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Oregon, and Texas – in September a yr in the past.
When the sport is on the road, Booker can take over. The most effective examples final season was within the Class 6A quarterfinals with Germantown’s season within the steadiness at Tupelo. She scored 14 of her game-high 25 factors within the fourth quarter to guide Germantown to a 62-54 victory. Booker made two 3-pointers – one from about 24 ft left of the highest of the important thing with a defender throughout her – a pair of two-pointers, a type of on an offensive rebound and one other on a drive to the basket, and 4 of 4 photographs from the free throw line late within the recreation for her 15 factors within the fourth quarter. Booker additionally completed with 8 rebounds, 3 assists and three blocked photographs to assist Germantown rally from a 42-40 deficit after three quarters.
After which was Germantown’s huge recreation with 6A contender Brandon final season. Glasgow challenged her staff to carry some depth to the sport they usually did, particularly Booker. With assistant coaches from College of Connecticut and College of Tennessee watching, Booker had 16 factors and 5 rebounds and led Germantown to a convincing, 53-32 victory at Brandon, breaking Brandon’s 11-game successful streak. Booker additionally restricted one among Brandon’s prime scorers, senior guard Marley Freeman, to solely seven factors.
Booker averaged 18.8 factors, 7.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocked photographs and led Germantown to a 13-4 file and the MHSAA Class 6A runner-up end as a sophomore. She was first staff on the All-Metro Jackson staff as a freshman and sophomore.