Nothing is given to you in Moss Point, Mississippi. Devin Booker went out and earned it
In over two decades in the newspaper business, I’ve had only a handful of moments when I’ve seen a high school athlete for the first time and immediately recognized the potential for superstardom.
Ex-George County defensive lineman McKinnley Jackson, who is now at Texas A&M, and former Biloxi baseball star Colt Keith, now in the Detroit Tigers organization, can be considered in that group.
But none of the prep athletes I’ve seen previously or since compare to what current Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker showed me the first time I saw him on a basketball court.
It was December of 2012 in Booker’s junior season at Moss Point, and the Tigers were hosting Ocean Springs.
It wasn’t surprising that Moss Point won that night, but the 100-55 thumping and the show that Booker put on were jaw dropping.
Booker played only three quarters and outscored the entire Ocean Springs squad, 40-39, during his time on the court.
A look back at Devin Booker in 2012
While recently scouring through the Sun Herald archive, I came across a column of mine I had completely forgotten about.
These paragraphs from that piece best explain what I saw the night of Dec. 4, 2012:
I heard buzz about Booker when I first arrived at the Sun Herald back in mid-September, but you never really appreciate all the praise until you see a player in person.
Booker is indeed special.
Even some of the members of the Ocean Springs junior varsity squad were amazed with what they were seeing from the bleachers.
One of them walked up to me in the second half and asked what grade Booker was in.
When I answered that he was a junior, the Ocean Springs player stared back in disbelief.
As the game wore on, the Ocean Springs players kept peppering me with questions ... like, “How many points does he have now?”
Booker stands 6-foot-5 and has a skill set that nearly every coach, NBA or college, would appreciate.
On several occasions I had people come up to me and ask me if I was a scout. It was as if they immediately assumed that any stranger with a note pad must be here just to see Booker.
He’s extremely athletic, can shoot the lights out and plays with a high degree of energy no matter if he’s on offense or defense. Booker uses his quickness and long wingspan to deny pass after pass. And when he gets his hands on a steal, he knows exactly what to do with it.
Booker is also a gym rat. I’m not sure if I’ve been to a high school game yet this season that he hasn’t been in attendance.
Before Devin Booker was a household name
Considering Booker was named Sun Herald Player of the Year after his sophomore season, it’s still surprising to me that there was a member of the Ocean Springs JV squad who wasn’t fully aware of who Booker was or what grade he was in.
One nugget I left out of my column was the awkward moment when I approached Jeremy Bowen, the Ocean Springs interim coach at the time, after he gave a very long post-game speech to his players in the visitors’ locker room.
I recall starting the conversation with, “Well, it’s kind of tough when he plays like that.”
With an annoyed expression on his face, he responded, “Who’s he?”
Bowen and his players, varsity and junior varsity, left the Moss Point High School gym that night thoroughly informed as to who Devin Booker was.
Devin Booker’s rise was built with hard work
Booker could have easily chosen to attend a premier private high school with a top-notch basketball program, but Booker followed his father, Missouri hoops legend Melvin Booker, back to his hometown of Moss Point.
When he transferred from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Moss Point ahead of his sophomore year, he enrolled in a school that’s located in a poor town in a poor state.
Mississippi’s average individual income is $24,509, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In Moss Point, it’s $20,696.
On the court, wins were often hard to come by for Booker and his Moss Point teammates.
When the Tigers beat Ocean Springs that December, they improved to 2-6 on their way to a 12-16 season.
During Booker’s senior year, the Tigers fought their way to a 17-14 record and managed to earn a region title.
Booker was always the best player on the court, and teams knew that. He faced a steady barrage of double- and triple-team defenses. He still managed to set the Moss Point school record with 2,518 points over three seasons.
Proud son of Moss Point
On Booker’s path from being overshadowed in Mississippi by former Kansas star Malik Newman, to a capable sixth-man at Kentucky to his current status of NBA stardom, he has put in the extra hours of work.
Today, he is putting in huge games in the NBA Finals and drawing comparisons to the legendary Kobe Bryant. He also happens to be dating one of the world’s most famous women, Kendall Jenner.
Going from Moss Point, Mississippi, to hanging out with the Kardashians, is the equivalent of …
Well, I can’t think of an equivalence.
After the Suns’ remarkable 2021 postseason run came to a close, Booker got his shot on the international stage with Team USA in Tokyo.
From prominent Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude to NFL star agent Damarius Bilbo, there are success stories coming out of Moss Point.
There’s little doubt, however, that these men worked harder than most to get where they are today.
Nothing is given to you in Moss Point, Mississippi. You have to go out and earn it.
This story was originally published June 28, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Nothing is given to you in Moss Point, Mississippi. Devin Booker went out and earned it."
