Booker: 'I got to find myself again' at South Carolina
Frank Booker stood outside Heathwood Hall’s gym, his forehead still sweaty from playing in the SC Pro-Am.
He stood by a few former teammates, a Gamecock basketball T-shirt draped over his 6-foot-3 frame. He was laughing, enjoying the last few weeks before starting professional basketball, something that even a year ago Booker himself didn’t see happening.
The former Oklahoma Sooner and FAU Owl came to South Carolina as a grad transfer and, in playing one year in Columbia, rekindled his love for the sport.
“I got to find myself again. When I left FAU, I was in a funk,” he said. “I didn’t play well and I was done with college basketball. I came here and got my confidence back. I got to meet some great people. I got to play under arguably the best college coaches in the game.”
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Booker’s college career spanned three schools in three different states. He learned something from each of them.
He spent two seasons at Oklahoma, playing in a Sweet 16, before transferring to FAU for a season, and ultimately ended up playing for Frank Martin and the Gamecocks.
It was a steep learning curve, having one year to learn a complex defensive system while also playing well with a potential professional career looming.
So Booker used probably his greatest resource: Martin himself.
“I took a little time to adjust to Coach Frank and the way he plays,” Booker said. “I was in his office 24/7. I didn’t have a choice. I loved being around him to see where his mind goes.”
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And now, he’s a professional; Booker signed a contract and is training with Evreux, a League B team in France.
He’s already played in a few exhibitions, averaging 15.5 points over his last two and, like most Gamecock fans remember, shooting the three well (over 30 percent the last two games).
Evreux starts its regular season this Wednesday, which starts Booker’s quest toward his ultimate goal of playing in the NBA.
“I’m going to start there and play my butt off. Hopefully I’ll come back and try to get a workout or two,” he said. “Everybody needs shooters in the league and I feel like I can fit that spot. I can play pretty good defense and won’t be a liability.”
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Booker was one of the Gamecocks’ best offensive players last season with a team-best 119.3 offensive rating and was second in the SEC with a 125.4 offensive rating in conference games.
He shot over 40 percent from three and finished 11th in the SEC shooting 40.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Booker was able to really come into his own as a player under Martin. He enjoyed his time so much that, instead of going home after his summer classes, he opted to stay in Columbia and work out with the team in preparation for his pro career.
“It’s always good to stick around and talk to the coaches and see some of the new players. Because a lot of the players that came here I took them as my recruiting people. I was their host. I got to know them a little better. Now that they’ve come, I know them way better,” Booker said. “It’s fun to stick around and see things build.”
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