Melvin Booker

Melvin Booker
Personal information
Born (1972-08-20) August 20, 1972 (age 52)
Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolMoss Point
(Moss Point, Mississippi)
CollegeMissouri (1990–1994)
NBA draft1994: undrafted
Playing career1994–2008
PositionPoint guard
Number9, 14, 5
Career history
1994–1995Hartford Hellcats
1995Pittsburgh Piranhas
1995–1996Grand Rapids Mackers
1996Houston Rockets
1996Denver Nuggets
1996–1997Grand Rapids Hoops
1997Golden State Warriors
1998–1999Sony Milano
1999–2002Scavolini Pesaro
2002–2004Ülkerspor
2006–2007Khimki
2007–2008Olimpia Milano
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points166 (5.2 ppg)
Rebounds38 (1.2 rpg)
Assists74 (2.3 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Melvin Jermaine Booker (born August 20, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 185 lb (84 kg) point guard, he played for the University of Missouri.

Amateur career

Booker was a standout high school player in Moss Point, Mississippi. He averaged 28 points per game in his senior year and was named the player of the year in his class. Despite that, none of the major four-year schools from the region recruited him. Booker signed with Missouri, a school whose attention he caught during a prior recruitment run through the area. Missouri assistant coaches noticed him while they were scouting fellow Mississippi standouts Litterial Green and Chris Jackson.[1]

Booker was the 1994 Big Eight Player of the Year, when he led Missouri to an undefeated conference record of 14–0 and an Elite Eight berth. He was also an all Big Eight selection in 1993 and 1994 and was a 1994 first-team All-American as a senior, when he averaged 18.1 points and 4.5 assists per game. In 1999, Booker was elected to the intercollegiate athletics Hall of Fame at the University of Missouri.

Professional career

Despite his accomplishments, Booker was not selected in the 1994 NBA draft.

He played in the NBA for the Houston Rockets during the 1995–96 season; and the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors, during the 1996–97 season, for 32 games.

Personal life

While playing for the Grand Rapids Mackers in the 1995–1996 CBA season, Booker met Veronica Gutiérrez. The two became close and had a son, Devin, who was born on October 30, 1996. The two never married and Gutiérrez would take care of their son Devin while his father played pro basketball in Europe and Asia. During the summers, Booker would bring his son to his games which helped to drive Devin's interest in basketball.[2] After Melvin Booker retired from pro basketball in 2008, he returned to his hometown of Moss Point, Mississippi and brought his son with him so he could help train him to become a successful basketball player. Booker was hired as an assistant coach for basketball at his alma mater, Moss Point High School, in 2011.[2]

His only child, Devin Booker, played for the University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball team during their nearly undefeated 2014–15 NCAA season, was then drafted by and plays for the Phoenix Suns.[3][4]

References

  1. ^ "Devin Booker and his father show the changed landscape of recruiting". August 1, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Stuart Warner (October 12, 2018). "The 'Book' of Phoenix: Devin Booker, Like the City, Blossoming in the Desert". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  3. ^ "Meet the Cats: Kentucky's Devin Booker benefits from belief in dad". Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  4. ^ Devin Booker set to enter his dad's old stomping grounds at Missouri Archived January 31, 2015, at the Wayback Machine