Kentucky's Devin Booker Is Living His Father's Dream

CLEVELAND — Melvin Booker starred on one of the old Big Eight's best teams ever, was voted as an All-American and played 32 games in the NBA.

But he never experienced this.

Booker, now 42 years old, stood just beyond a familiar spot outside the three-point line, squared his shoulders toward the basket and shot. Photo after photo. He needed to capture this moment. His son, Kentucky freshman Devin Booker, stood in front of the basket on a ladder cutting down the net at Quicken Loans Arena.

Everything Melvin had told his son made complete sense in that moment.

Derek Samson

Devin Booker, just 18 years old, is projected to be an NBA lottery pick this summer, despite not starting a single game for the Wildcats this season. Just think about that for a moment. Booker could become the face of an NBA franchise, and his pro debut will mark the first time he's started a game since high school.

He's the symbol of what makes this Kentucky team, which stands two games away from a perfect 40-0 record, so unique. With nine McDonald's All-Americans on the roster and nearly that many players who will likely be picked in this summer's draft, the Wildcats somehow managed to share both minutes and the spotlight without any apparent bickering.

Everyone knows Booker would be the best player on nearly any other college team in the country. He knows it; his dad knows it.

Would the spotlight shine brighter on the star of any other team than it does on the sixth man on perhaps the greatest college team ever?

It's tough to picture a brighter spotlight than being on a team attempting to make history this weekend in the Final Four.

Dad was right, again.

"He's told me to enjoy the moment," said Devin, a 6'6" guard, "because you won't ever be in a situation like this or on a team like this again."

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Melvin Booker led a loaded Missouri team with an 18.1-point average in 1993-94. He shot 41 percent from three-point range and better than 50 percent from the field overall. A first-team All-American, Booker also was selected as the Big Eight's Player of the Year.

Al Bello/Getty Images

But he wasn't quite good enough to get drafted into the NBA or stick on a roster very long. So he understands just how difficult it is to get there.

He spent most of his pro career in the CBA and overseas, and it was during a stint with Grand Rapids of the CBA that he met Veronica Gutierrez, Devin's mother.

Melvin played basketball overseas, 10 months out of the year, for most of Devin's childhood. When he was back in the United States, Devin would travel from Grand Rapids to stay with Melvin in his hometown of Moss Point, Mississippi.

Melvin noticed everything in Devin the basketball player. The good: He was going to be taller than his father, his basketball IQ was through the roof and he had natural talent. And the bad: His shot needed a little help, and more than anything, he needed to get more serious.

So, Melvin pitched this idea prior to Devin's sophomore year of high school: Move to Mississippi.

"I used to go to Michigan to watch him, but I thought it'd be better to have him day-to-day," Melvin said. "He always had a high basketball IQ, but he needed to learn some things. I'd ask him how many shots he was taking outside of practice, and he would say, 'I practiced for two hours, and you're saying I've got to go practice more?'

"I told him that's what the great players do. He didn't understand what it would take to make him great. But he picked it up quickly. He's like a sponge."

Melvin taught Devin hard work as much as anything. They worked out daily together—on the beach, in the weight room and especially taking thousands of shots in the gym. Devin recalls his dad sweating through the workouts just as much as he did.

Melvin also drove Devin 200 miles nearly every weekend during the offseason, from Moss Point to Montgomery, Alabama, so Devin could play for the AAU's Alabama Challenge. Head coach Robert Shannon said not only did Melvin make sure Devin never missed a practice, but Devin was also never late for a single practice in two years on the team.

Shannon called Melvin a "helluva likable guy" and said Melvin never interfered with the coaching of his son. In fact, Shannon recalled, Melvin asked the coaches often what they wanted Devin to be working on.

"It's a special thing between those two," Shannon said. "Melvin is Devin's biggest critic. He'd tell him what he did well, but he'd always tell him when he half-assed something. He always pushed him. Devin always knew his dad would say, 'You half-assed this play.' He didn't allow him to take plays off."

Just as Melvin anticipated, Devin went from good to great. Better than great. He averaged 30.9 points for Moss Point as a senior and finished a three-year career as the school's all-time leading scorer with 2,518 points. He became a McDonald's All-American and played in the Jordan Brand Classic.

He had become an NBA prospect. And a Kentucky recruiting target.

These days, those are the same thing.

"Mississippi transformed my whole game," Devin said. "When I was up in Michigan, I loved the game, but I didn't take it that serious. I didn't know it could be a big part of my life like this. I knew I'd play college ball one day, but playing at the University of Kentucky, that's a whole different story."

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Melvin Booker still loves Mizzou. He goes back for reunions and follows the current team. He told the Columbia Daily Tribune two months ago he'd be pulling for the Tigers against Kentucky.

Mizzou hoped that connection would lure Devin to Columbia, and he took an official visit to the school. A trio of M's—Michigan, Michigan State and Missouri—appeared to have a shot at Booker. He'd be the star, with an offense built and running around him.

Or he could join the NBA roster being assembled in Lexington and play a limited role.

Melvin knew this decision was about his son, not him. He called choosing Kentucky "a no-brainer."

Devin agreed.

"I wouldn't say it was difficult at all," Devin said. "You might be the star player somewhere else, but you wouldn't be (undefeated). That's more important to me. That works out for some people to go to a school and be a star player. But I'd rather be part of something special."

Booker averages 10.1 points per game and shoots 41 percent from three-point range. Imagine if he averaged more than 21.6 minutes—seventh on the team, although no player averages more than 25.8—or 7.6 shots per game.

James Crisp/Associated Press

He admits he briefly imagined that. 

"They weren't good thoughts if I was thinking it," Booker, the SEC Sixth Man of the Year, said. "I don't like losing. I went to a public high school, and we weren't that talented. When we'd lose, it used to break me. People would say I took it too serious, and it was just a high school game. But losing isn't fun. Being a part of a winning team, this is just great."

Booker struggled late in the season but also showed some resiliency. After going 0-of-7 from three-point land in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, reporters peppered him about his sudden shooting woes. He had scored in single digits six of seven games heading into the Sweet 16, and everyone wanted to know what was wrong.

He bounced back in the wins over West Virginia and Notre Dame, though, hitting double figures in both and going a combined 4-of-8 from three-point range.

"Devin worked so hard," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "It's been tough. He's 18 years old—he's probably one of the youngest freshmen in the country. He got on a run, and all of a sudden he's making shots, and if you remember the comment, it's like, 'I'm shooting it in the ocean.' And then his ocean got really small.

"Now you're watching him, and I kept telling him, 'This whole team wants you to shoot the ball.' He had to tighten it up."

His teammates never lost faith during that brief slump in games. They'd seen him in practice. And UK's practices, frankly, are more competitive than most games. No offense to the majority of Kentucky's opponents, but UK's second five likely would make a deep NCAA tournament run. Booker basically competed in an NBA training camp every day in practice this season.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

"In practices we go at each other," Booker said. "Off the court, we're still brothers. On the court, we compete like it's the enemy, like it's the other team. I play against the best competition when I'm in practice—the white platoon against the blue platoon. You can only imagine what the practices look like. Everybody above the rim. It's amazing.

"They're NBA players. Playing them every day and seeing that size we know we will see at the next level."

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Melvin Booker carried Missouri into the 1994 NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed after an unbeaten regular season in the Big Eight. The Tigers finished 28-4 overall and 14-0 in conference play, but they lost big to Arizona in the Elite Eight. The roster included memorable names such as Jevon Crudup, Kelly Thames and Lamont Frazier, but no name was bigger than Melvin Booker.

Melvin could shoot. Really shoot.

Devin has seen this in highlights from way back in the early 1990s: "Growing up, I watched everything he had, the old tapes."

Devin has seen it in person too.

Melvin, a 6'1" former point guard, gives up five inches to his son now and has never played him one-on-one. They decided when Devin joined his dad in Mississippi not to go there. They've matched up against each other in some five-on-five settings, and each has had his moments in those games.

But a year ago, during Devin's senior year of high school, a charity event at Moss Point High School set up a father-son shooting contest. They started in one corner, worked their way around the three-point line to the other corner and then went back. In all, each Booker took a dozen or so shots. 

Devin only missed once.

Melvin didn't miss at all.

"I couldn't let him win because he'd never stop talking about it," Melvin said. "I remind him who the best shooter in the house is."

Devin has a rebuttal.

"They were a talented group, too," Devin said of his father's Missouri teams. "They went undefeated in their conference. But I always mess with him and tell him that we'd blow their team out."

Even if he won't admit it, deep down, Melvin knows his son might be right.

"My senior year, we were deep. We had eight, nine, 10 players that could play," he said. "We didn't have the pros they do, though. I thought on paper this was gonna be a really good team, but when I came out of their first practice, I was like, 'This is amazing.' ...

"All the pros, the chance to reach your dream, winning a national championship...I keep telling him to enjoy this moment because it goes by so fast. This is special. He understands it's all about the ultimate goal."

Melvin's plan, all of his advice, now makes so much sense. The only shot left for Melvin to take is of Devin on the ladder again, taking scissors to a net.

This time in Indianapolis.

Derek Samson has been an editor and writer in the sports-media industry for nearly 20 years. He has worked at Yahoo Sports, USA Today and Sporting News, among other outlets. All quotes for the story were obtained firsthand.