Senior guard Askia Booker checks out for the last time in his Colorado career after he fouled out in the waning seconds of Colorado’s 93-85 loss to Oregon. (Matt Sisneros/CU Independent)
On Sunday, March 1, Colorado basketball’s sole senior guard Askia Booker stepped onto his home court in Boulder for the last time in the regular season. When the crowd gave him a standing ovation as he took the court, he knew his hard work up to that point had been worth it.
After finishing his final performance at the Coors Events Center with 29 points, three rebounds and a pair of both steals and assists, Booker made his mark on Colorado history. He became one of three players to compile 1,600 career points, 400 rebounds, 300 assists and 140 steals.
He’s also etched his name into 14 categories of Colorado’s history book, all listed below.
Booker’s career is not one that any Buffs basketball fan will easily forget. His legacy includes a host of highlights. For instance, what better way to enshrine yourself than with a top 10 upset?
As the clock ran down to the wire on Dec. 7, 2013 in a tied, high-stakes contest against No. 6 Kansas, Colorado head coach Tad Boyle put the game completely on the then-junior guard’s shoulders. With less than three seconds left on the clock and victory on the line, Booker took the inbounds pass, dribbled twice and threw up his best 30-foot shot.
The ball never hit the rim.
Booker just stood there, stunned, as teammates and fans alike rushed to the court to celebrate with their new hometown hero. The shot marked the beginning of the team’s six-week romance with the AP Top 25 rankings.
“I’m not sure I thought that would ever happen. It felt great,” Booker admitted after the game.
The shot ranks among other great memories. But for Booker, the most memorable accomplishment from his stint at Colorado is “still the Pac-12 tournament, by far”.
During his freshman year, and Colorado’s inaugural year in the Pac-12 conference, Booker and his team unexpectedly stole four games in four days to claim the conference tournament title in Los Angeles. He said it was a pivotal point in his college career.
“Our season didn’t go that well up to that point,” Booker said. “It was up and down and we didn’t know if we were going to make the NCAA tournament, probably not. But after those four games in four days, I pretty much realized that anything in college—if you come together and compete at a very high level, if you defend and rebound—you can win games.”
Booker recently added to the history books, scoring an all-time high of 43 points when he visited the court he grew up playing on, USC’s Galen Center, on Jan 29. It marked the highest-scoring performance for any Buffalo in the past 20 years and tied him for fourth place in single-season scoring in Colorado history.
He attributed the immense offensive success to feeling right at home with the arena and the opposing players.
“It’s not even about being home, really,” Booker said. “I’ve practiced there so many times, I’ve practiced there this past summer. I’ve played basketball there for a while. Number one, I’m just comfortable in that gym. Number two, a lot of those guys I played with in the summer, so I know what they’re capable of and I know some of their weaknesses.”
For Booker, the passion for the game came at an early age. His mother, Daniele, said that Booker developed a love for the game from the moment he sunk his first basket at the tender age of two and a-half years old.
“He made his first ‘granny shot’—which is underhand—and at that point he said ‘I want to go to the NBA,’” Daniele said. “He’s never deviated from that goal.”
Senior Askia Booker hugs his mother as she tears up during the senior night celebrations at Coors Event Center on Sunday March 1, 2015. (Robert Hylton/CU Independent)
Despite his newfound love for the game, Booker had to wait until he was six years old before his mom was able to find a team for him. From there, it didn’t take long for his talent to blossom.
“[I realized Askia had a talent for basketball] probably around eight or nine, because I took him off one league where I think he was scoring too well,” Daniele said. “Someone told me I had to put him in a rougher neighborhood and really get him to learn how to play ball and really get to know how to earn his own. The coaches actually said that when they saw him play.”
Booker, however, thinks his pre-collegiate career peaked during his sophomore summer at Price High School in Los Angeles.
“I had to put literally everything aside,” Booker said. “Going out with friends, having people over- I literally just put myself in a cage. I dedicated my whole summer—my sophomore summer of high school—to flat out basketball… It was just basketball and sleep.”
In the end, his hard work paid off.
“It was just dedication, and that’s when the colleges started coming, noticing and they started calling,” Booker said. “But that’s pretty much the summer where it was a gateway opening up to the schools.”
Booker caught the interest of numerous mid-major schools, but only a handful of division one schools offered him a position on their teams: Colorado, Virginia Commonwealth, Baylor and UCLA. But when the time to decide came down to the wire, Booker narrowed his options to Colorado and UCLA.
Booker ultimately chose Colorado because Boyle and his staff consistently pursued him throughout his senior season at Price. The Bruins, on the other hand, treated Booker like their last option.
Clearly, he made the right career move. As she sat in the stands minutes before his final game in Boulder, Booker’s mom said she couldn’t be happier with the way his career has gone.
“Beyond proud,” Daniele said. “I’m beyond proud. And you don’t see, every day, your son on TV. Some days I’m in awe, thinking, ‘I can’t believe he’s actually on TV. He’s playing.’ And he’s done a phenomenal job. I think he’s done extremely well.”
As his college career comes to a close, Booker is confident that he’ll carry his career to the pros. He wouldn’t say if any teams had reached out to him, though.
“I don’t want to disclose that yet, but I’m not picky,” Booker said, smiling. “If I’m lucky enough to get a job in the NBA and to compete at a very high level, that’s all I need: one shot. All I need is one shot. I’ll be there for a while. My work ethic alone will carry me.”
He says he’s prepared for the challenge.
“I know, once this season is over—I want it to go as long as it possibly can—this summer is going to be 10 times harder than that sophomore summer,” Booker said. “I guarantee it. So I’ll be in the gym a lot, and that’ll be the only place where you can really find me. I’ll bring a suitcase. I’m just ready to work once my time is done at Colorado. That’s what I want to prepare for.”
But, no matter where he ends up, Booker says he’ll always be a Buff at heart.
Where Booker stands in CU history after the Pac-12 tournament:
2nd in games won: 83-51
2nd in career games played: 134 (1st is Austin Dufault with 136)
3rd in minutes played: 3,808
4th in career field goals attempted: 1,551
4th in 3-point field goals attempted: 538
5th in 3-point field goals made: 170
5th in career turnovers: 287
6th in scoring: 1740 points
8th in career field goals made: 595
8th in career free throws made: 380
8th in career steals: 155
9th in career assists (by position and overall): 335
9th in games started: 97
10th in career free throw percentage: .792
Contact CU Independent Sports staff writer Alissa Noe at Alissa.Noe@colorado.edu.
