John Calipari on Devin Booker: "He's even better than I thought he'd be"

We get it, Devin Booker is good. Really freaking good, a perennial All-NBA caliber talent — he earned First-Team honors for the first time in 2022 and he’s on pace to do it again this season. Three-time All-Star, averaging an absurd 28.1 points per contest on 49.7/36.1/84.9 splits.

Of all the professional bucket-getters to come through Kentucky over the years, Booker may be at the top of the list.

John Calipari knew he’d be a good player, but he’d be lying if he said he expected, well, this. Does it shock him? No, because the 6-foot-5 guard out of Grand Rapids, MI believed he could do it. And that’s half the battle of being great, a trait he shares with another former Wildcat standout.

“When he was here he was one of the youngest freshmen in college, yet — I’m gonna tell you, the dude had a chip on his shoulder,” Calipari said in a call-in interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio. “He was tough as nails, another guy that’s a dog. His belief in himself, like Jamal Murray, off the charts. Those dudes, you can’t convince them that they’re not better than everybody. Those two are the same.”

How does he do it? Calipari says it’s his ability to be a true three-level scorer, comfortable working out of the mid-range just as much as he is knocking down threes or finishing around the rim. That’s a special trait that separates the very good from the great.

“The ability to make shots, the ability to raise up — we didn’t have him in as much pick-and-roll because we had two other point guards here. What he’s shown is, in pick-and-roll, ‘I’m big enough to see the court to know who I’m throwing to, but you’ve got to play me or I’m scoring.’ I think the true all-star All-Stars are the guys that have that mid-level game. Yeah, he can shoot threes and he can get to the rim.

“But he has those — think of the best players in the league, maybe I’m wrong. They have that mid-level game, either floaters or pull-ups. It’s not just a three or a layup, they can score and beat you in other ways.”

Calipari would obviously like to take credit for his greatness, but that wouldn’t be fair to the work Booker has put in to get to this point. The Phoenix Suns star has earned his reputation as one of the league’s best all-around scorers.

“I’m proud of him. He’s proven defensively he’s got a toughness, a swagger to him,” his former coach said. “I knew he was going to be good, but he’s even better than I thought he’d be.”

"He's another guy that's a dog."

Kentucky Men's Basketball Coach, John Calipari joined Rick Kamla & Antonio Daniels and tells them why he has such high praise for Devin Booker #WeAreTheValley pic.twitter.com/7zdML4GY2F

— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) April 1, 2023

Playing just 21.5 minutes per game during his time at Kentucky, Booker averaged 10.0 points — third on the team — to go with 2.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists, shooting 47.0% from the field and 41.1% from the field. He would go on to earn SEC Sixth Man of the Year honors while being named to the All-SEC Second Team and the All-SEC Freshman Team.

Now, the former Wildcat standout is exceeding the expectations even John Calipari had for him.