The first domino has fallen in the class of 2025. Devin Booker, a 6’5 wing out of Cristo Rey in Philly, has committed to playing for your George Mason Patriots.
Booker visited Fairfax near the beginning of September, when he was coming off of an official visit from A10 member Duquesne.
George Mason is hosting 2025 G Devin Booker for an official visit beginning today. The 6’4 Philly native out of Cristo Rey and @KLowElite got his offer from the Patriots on June 24th. Coming off an OV with Duquesne this week. pic.twitter.com/5MJlpcplkL
— George Mason Recruiting (@GMURecruiting) August 29, 2024
I’ve already written a lot about him in his visit article, so go read that if you need a refresher.
This is a player that was sought after by high-level A10 schools, like Duquesne and Saint Louis, along with some schools that seemed like decent fits in Fordham and La Salle. Not only did he have good mid-major offers, but Mississippi St. and Virginia Tech were also in the mix.
Devin Booker Scouting Report (K-Low Elite 3SSB vs. DC Premier UAA)
I went to this game to scout his defense, and since I know DC Premier is very talented, I’ll watch the entire game to get the full scope of his skillset.
On offense, the thing I noticed the most was that Booker was very comfortable from both corners. I believe he went 3-4 on corner threes in this game. The Philly native is not afraid to shoot over a closeout defender.
Devin’s team didn’t ask him to do much, but what they asked of him, he did very well. Booker was given the opportunity to create for himself three times in the game and got open on all three, including two dribble-drives, one of which was the go-ahead shot in overtime.
Something subtle that I noticed was that when his team’s ballhandler was putting himself in a bad spot, Booker was making sure that there was an open line of sight, so he could be the safety valve if needed, which it was.
Speaking of his off-ball movement, the Philly native didn’t move too much off the ball, but when he did, he got open. I enjoyed watching him have a perfect backdoor cut that turned into a bit of a poster.
It isn’t a skill you use very often, but Devin can hit standing layups from the dunker spot. He is also athletic enough to catch lobs.
With rebounding, Booker is about what you would expect in a guard/smaller wing. If he gets a long rebound, Mason’s commit is smart enough to kick it out to an open shooter. If Devin can’t get the rebound, he can try to tap it out to someone else.
Lastly, Devin had some flashes that showed he will probably be a good connective passer at the college level.
On defense, Booker was good at tracking his man off-ball. As the game got later, he became the point-of-attack defender more, which means they were probably saving his energy for offense early on. In a crunch time possession, Devin was the POA defender and locked his man up, forcing a timeout after ten-ish seconds.
Mason’s first 2025 commit has great closeout speed, which makes him an effective and versatile zone defender.
Speaking of versatile, K-Low had Booker playing center on defense sometimes. You would never want him to do that in the A10 of course, but it is good experience to have. He didn’t really do a bad job at it.
Devin can also play the top of a half-court zone, which is a nice skill to have. Not Woody Newton level, but he can still run around.
Booker is good at swiping at the ball when the ballhandler goes past him and gives him a good chance at it.
Areas of Improvement
It could have been the game plan, but Booker didn’t move off the ball too much. It seemed like his team’s gameplan had rigid, planned off-ball movement where players weren’t allowed to use their instincts to cut to the open space. When Devin does do it, it seems like he gets open pretty often, you just want him to do it more. It’s a volume problem, not efficiency.
Booker was sometimes a bit too aggressive in the passing lanes, which led to some open baskets.
Devin didn’t show to be too much of a self-creator volume-wise, but to be fair, his team had two small guards that were creating their own shot pretty well, so he was playing off of them.
This is an awesome first get for Tony Skinn’s 2025 class, especially since he would be able to develop under some great players at the position with the extra scholarship spots. The two and three spot will be deep for years to come.
I eventually have to mention that he shares a name with a likely NBA Hall of Famer.
Welcome to Mason Nation, Devin Booker.
