In Learning to Do It All, Madison Booker Looks to Win It All

The Record: What’s your earliest memory of falling in love with hoops?

Madison Booker: When I was in elementary school, I remember waking up early in the morning and shooting in my driveway. My mom would always get on me, saying she didn’t want me to go to school all sweaty and musty [laughs]. I was happy playing all these scenarios in my head with the ball in my hand. Clock winding down, one-on-one. I remember playing that voice I played in my head. I loved the game even back then.

TR: You’ve talked before about how your dad was huge in fostering your love for the game.

MB: He played for Southern Mississippi in college. He later played overseas. As he got older, he’d play competitive pickup in my hometown. Whenever he wrapped up a game, he always took the time to train me. My time with him became a regular part of my day. Once he got home from work, I’d be standing there at the front door, waiting to play him one-on-one in the driveway. 

TR: What difference do you think it makes to have a parent who played at a high level, compared to someone who’s figuring out the game with you? 

MB: I think they can keep you from overcomplicating what it looks like to be an athlete in your sport. I was a big Boston Celtic fan growing up. My favorite player was Rajon Rondo, who was their point guard. That’s what I wanted to be. And I remember my dad saying to me, “You’re not going to be a point guard. You’re going to be a basketball player.” It was the first thing he ever taught me about basketball.

TR: It’s what happens when playing to a specific position actually becomes a barrier.

MB: He told me, “Whatever your team needs you to do, you’re going to do it, regardless of the position. If they need you to post up and get boards, you’re going to do it. If they need you to score and pass, you’re going to do it.” It’s one way I try to use my story to help younger players who are trying to fit the mold of a type of player they have in their heads. It’s not about your position. It’s about doing whatever it takes for your team to win games. 

TR: You were a three-time All-State player in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Your senior year at Germantown High, you led your team to the state title. You don’t hear many stories these days about players who stick with one school all four years.

MB: Yeah, my mom’s a teacher there at the high school.

TR: Oh, so you didn’t get any slack, huh? 

MB: [Laughs] No, I was a student athlete in every sense of the word. It was an understood rule that wherever she’d go to teach, I’d follow her. But after I started showing some promise, she was the one who encouraged me to move out of state to play basketball for another school, to raise my game. But I didn’t want to go to another place. I loved my community. I also wanted to put the state on my back. We have some dogs here in Mississippi for girls' basketball. I wanted to prove to people what we were capable of, and I could do that by staying loyal to my state. 

Making that state title run as a senior was incredible. I found this — I don’t know what to call it — almost like a takeover mode in all facets of the game. The self-belief we carried as a team was crazy. It was like, we weren’t going to lose, period. 

TR: I want to stay on that “takeover mode.” There had to have been a moment when you realized you were a level above everyone else. Was it when you were in middle school? Was it when you played for the Southern Starz in EYBL?

MB: I actually thought I was complete trash until I got to college. 

TR: You serious? You know how crazy that sounds, right?

MB: I know. Through high school and AAU, I always felt I was clumsy, like I couldn’t control my own body, like I didn’t know who I was. My IQ was there, which was the clearest jump when you go from high school to AAU. Most everyone has a love for the game, they watch the game at a high level, and they can process the game a cut above their teammates. Where I was lacking was more an assertion thing. I wasn’t taking over or being dominant in the way I needed to be. I was passive. The turning point probably came in the Augusta EYBL stop in 2021. I was in ninth grade. I remember because it came right after Covid, and it was the first time they combined the men’s and women’s teams in the same building. I remember having zero hesitations about what I needed to do to take over. Score, pass, defend. I could do it all. But it’s funny, because people bring up my midrange game as if I was born with it, but I didn’t really unlock it until I got to college.

TR: It’s interesting, because your game is so smooth, it’s like you’ve never had any doubt about the levels to it. The first thing people say when they see your pull-up jumper is, “That’s so pure.” But if I’m hearing you right, it took you a while to believe that. 

MB: I’ve come to see myself as a player who’s always changing. I think my coaches would say I’m changing too. You don’t end your college career as the same player you were in high school. The change over time in how you perceive yourself is a good thing.

TR: You’re officially the first NIL player who KD has handpicked to represent his KD brand. On that note of how you see your game, what are some of the qualities you see in him that you want to carry on? Beyond the literal similarities, like your middy game.

MB: His game is so…complete. Of course, he’s a nonchalant guy, but in his game, there are no gaps. And his accomplishments are driven by a pure love for basketball, the kind that we can all remember having when we were kids. He watches a ton of women’s hoops. Whenever I talk with him, I can just tell he studies the game. He lives it. I want to honor a love for the game in the same way he has.

TR: When you think about your legacy at UT, what do you think will be the clearest indicator that you loved the game?

MB: That it’s a work in progress, every day. When I think of an accomplishment, it’s bringing UT a national championship. I want to give as much as possible back to this program after all they’ve invested in me. They’ve supported me each step of the way. A national title would really seal the deal.