.png) Booker with UCLA in the1971 Final Four | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1948-11-20)November 20, 1948 (age 76) Los Angeles County, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, California) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 1971: 14th round, 213th overall pick |
| Selected by thePhoenix Suns | |
| Playing career | 1975–1977 |
| Position | Guard |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |
Kenneth Arnold Booker (born November 20, 1948)[1][2] is an American former professionalbasketball player. He playedcollege basketball for theUCLA Bruins from 1969 to 1971, winning a national championship in each of his two seasons of play. He played two seasons professionally in Europe.[3]
After helping his high school team win two championships, Booker went tojunior college atLong Beach City College. He was an all-conference player for the Vikings, and was later inducted into their Hall of Champions. He transferred to theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he was a defensive specialist. Booker was a keyreserve player in his first year of play. He moved to theguard position and became astarter as a senior, when he won his second national title with the Bruins, part of a run of seven consecutive championships by UCLA coachJohn Wooden. After college, Booker had a brief stint playing professionally, and also coached for a year in high school. He later became arealtor, and has also been a high schoolbasketball official for over 30 years.
Booker grew up inLong Beach, California,[4] and went to high school atLong Beach Polytechnic, where he won twoCalifornia Interscholastic Federation (CIF) basketball championships.[3] He was named to All-Southern California Board of Basketball all-star team as acenter in 1966.[5]
He went toLong Beach City College for two years, and changed to playingforward. As a freshman, he broke into the starting lineup in late December, and was named the team's Most Promising Freshman after helping the Vikings to a conference title in 1967.[3][6] Booker received honorable mention for the All-Metropolitan Conference team that year, before being named to the second team in 1968.[6][7] He was inducted into the Vikings Hall of Champions in 2006.[3]
Booker's play earned him a fullscholarship to play for CoachJohn Wooden at UCLA. While he was among the leading scorers on his high school and junior college teams,[8] Booker was a defensive specialist with the Bruins,[9][10] and helped them win their fourth and fifth out of seven consecutiveNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles under Wooden.[10] He sat out his initial season with UCLA in1968–69,redshirting to preserve his remaining two years of eligibility.[11][12] In his first year of play in1969–70, he came off the bench to curbGeoff Petrie ofPrinceton andPaul Westphal ofUSC, who were going off against the Bruins.[8] Petrie had scored 26 points in 28 minutes before Booker entered the game and held him to twofree throws in the final 12 minutes.[13] Booker played significant minutes late in the season and was a top reserve.[14][15]
As a senior in1970–71, Booker was converted fromforward toguard to replace the graduatedJohn Vallely in the starting lineup.[14][16][17] He was the lone new starter from the 1970 championship team, getting the nod overAndy Hill andTerry Schofield. At 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and 185 pounds (84 kg), Booker was the team's best perimeter defender, and was called "a fine defensive and team player" by Wooden.[4][14][18] The Bruins started the season 14–0 before losing 89–82 toNotre Dame. Booker began the game defending the Fighting Irish'sAustin Carr, who finished the game with 46 points, but Wooden then used Schofield andLarry Hollyfield instead. The coaching staff had instructed Booker to overplay Carr and expect help on defense if Carr drove to the basket. However, Wooden absolved Booker, declaring that he never received the help from the inside that was expected.[19][20] Though the loss ended a 19-game winning streak,[21] UCLA proceeded to win their next 88 games, an NCAA record.[a]
On February 6, 1971, Booker helped key a 64–60 comeback victory for No. 2 UCLA over No. 1USC. He had threesteals in the final minutes as the Trojans were held to one point in the final 9:35, helping the Bruins rally from a 59–50 deficit. Booker also scored 14points in the game, making seven of 10field goals.[22][23] For the season, Booker averaged 5.5 points and 2.6rebounds per game, as the Bruins finished 29–1 and captured their seventh national championship in eight seasons.[24]
After college, Booker was selected in the 14th round of the1971 NBA draft by thePhoenix Suns, as well as in the eighth round of theAmerican Basketball Association draft by theIndiana Pacers.[25][26] He tried out with Phoenix, surviving multiple cuts before being released in September 1971.[27][28] In October, Booker was appointed as the head coach ofVerbum Dei High School's basketball team, who were the defendingCIF Southern Section 4-A Division champions.[29][30] He coached the school for one season before quitting, leading them to aDel Rey League championship in 1972 as well as their second-straight CIF 4-A title;[31][32] it was also the school's fourth-straight CIF championship at any level.[b] In 1975 he went to Italy,[34] and played professionally for two years in Europe.[3]
In 1988, Booker became a realtor in Long Beach withColdwell Banker. As of 2010[update], he has been a high schoolbasketball official inSouthern California for over 30 years. He was named Referee of the Year by theOrange County Sports Association in 2009, and he has officiated high schoolvolleyball matches as well.[10]
