Tom Izzo accepts blame for Xavier Booker transfer: 'I failed'

Xavier Booker, a former five-star, arrived in East Lansing as one of the highest-rated recruits for the program in almost a decade. Two years later, though, he has since transferred in what Tom Izzo described as a failure of his own.

Izzo spoke about the three players who have transferred from Michigan State in the portal so far this offseason last week with the media. When it came to Booker, Izzo placed the blame on himself for how his career went while with the Spartans.

“Book, um – in Book? Make sure you take this right now. Um, I failed,” said Izzo. “I failed.”

Izzo said he was never able, no matter what he did, to make the most of the potential with Booker. That’s on him as the coach as he said since this player did all that was wanted of him. It just never came to be and, as such, Booker entered the portal at the first of April.

“I love him, I love Book. The day he came in with his family was a very difficult day for all of us. And, um, made him stronger. As a student-athlete, he’s done an unbelievable job. It, just – I couldn’t get enough out of him. That’s not all his fault. That’s my job. I do get paid for that and I did not get enough out of him,” Izzo said. “And, so, we talked, you know, during the year. I mean, I talked to Book a zillion times and it was all, for the most part, positive. And, I feel bad about Book because I think, deep down, there is a one hell of a basketball player in there and my job is to get that out of them and I didn’t get that done. So, I have to take responsibility for it too. If I asked Book to be here morning, noon, and night, Book was here morning, noon, and night. I asked him to improve academically, with his strength, with this, with that. Book did it all. It just didn’t translate into some things and, uh, that’s my job.”

“And Book, it was, uh, it was no problem either,” added Izzo. “I mean, uh, you know, it was talked about, um, opinions were made that were all, I think, on the same page.”

Booker was the No. 14 overall recruit, as the No. 2 center and the No. 1 player out of Indiana, at Cathedral (Indianapolis) in the 2023 class per the On3 Industry Ranking. That made him the top signee for Michigan State in that cycle and their highest-rated commitment still since Jaren Jackson Jr. in 2017.

However, in 60 games played for the Spartans with just five starts, Booker posted only 4.3 points (42.5% FG, 27.3% 3PT) and 2.0 rebounds per game in 11.2 minutes played. He scored in double figures in only seven games and never grabbed double-digit rebounds. His time with the team then ended quietly as he played just three minutes for them in the opening round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament before not appearing in any of their final three games of the postseason in reaching the Elite Eight.

With that, Booker entered the portal as one of three departures from the program along with Tre Holloman (NC State) and Gehrig Normand (Santa Clara). He currently rates at No. 151 overall and as the No. 35 PF in the portal per the latest update to On3’s Industry Ranking of 2025’s Top Transfer Portal Players. Three days after his entry, Booker then committed to UCLA with the Bruins also having added Donovan Dent (New Mexico) and Jamar Brown (Kansas City).

Booker did not work out in the end with the Spartans. Still, for all of the reasons why that may have been, Izzo put it on himself now that he’s out in Los Angeles.