By Robert Wilson
Duke. Tennessee. Texas.
Germantown High’s Madison Booker – one of the top five girls basketball players in the country in the Class of 2023 – will chose one of those schools to play college basketball Wednesday at 2:15 p.m. at the Germantown cafeteria, live streamed on Germantown’s Facebook page.
The 6-foot-1 Booker is one of the best high school players in Mississippi history. She started every game and helped Team USA win the gold medal for the past two years on the 16-and-under and 17-and-under teams. Booker has been the PriorityOne Bank Metro Jackson Player of the Year for the past two seasons as a sophomore and junior. She was the Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year as a sophomore.
Booker is rated No. 3 in the country in the Class of 2023 by Blue Star Basketball.
Booker averaged 16.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.1 steals and led Germantown to a 24-7 record and a second straight Girls State Tournament appearance last season as a junior.
Booker – whose father, Carlos, was a 6-10 center for Southern Miss in the 1990s – has made official visits to Duke, Tennessee and Texas. Recruited by the majority of the best programs in the country, Booker narrowed her college choices down to nine schools – Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Connecticut, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Oregon, and Texas – in September a year ago.
Duke is coached by one of top names in women’s basketball, Kara Lawson, who is entering her third season. Lawson was the national player of the year in high school and a two-time All-American at the University of Tennessee. She played 13 years in the WNBA and was an WNBA champion and an Olympic champion. Lawson was an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics, the first female coach in franchise history. Duke finished 17-13 last season and in ninth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season.
Tennessee is the only women’s basketball program to make every NCAA Tournament since it was started in 1981-82 season. The Lady Vols has won eight national championships and 17 SEC tournament titles and appeared in 18 Final Fours. Most of those were coached by Pat Summit, who is considered one of the best women’s basketball coaches in history. The Lady Vols, under Kellie Harper (who is entering her fourth season), reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 last season.
Former Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer has Texas rolling. Schaefer has led the Lady Longhorns to back-to-back NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearances in his first two seasons. Texas won the Big 12 Tournament championship and finished ranked No. 6 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll. Schaefer led MSU to two national runner-up finishes in his eight seasons in Starkville (2011-2020). He was named the national coach of the year in 2018 and 2022. Texas will be joining the SEC for the 2025-2026 season.
“We are so excited that Madison is ready to make the decision to where she is going to college,” Germantown coach Jamie Glasgow said. “She’s been recruited by just about every major Division I program. No matter what decision she makes, I know she will be successful. We are proud of all the accomplishments she has had up to this point in her high school career. It’s been so impressive to see her play with the USA team for the past two years. I know her senior season will bring her more individual accolades. She is focused not only on have a great season individually, but also the team having a great season. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
When the game is on the line, Booker can take over. One of the best examples last season was in the Class 6A quarterfinals with Germantown’s season in the balance at Tupelo. She scored 14 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead Germantown to a 62-54 victory. Booker made two 3-pointers – one from about 24 feet left of the top of the key with a defender all over her – a pair of two-pointers, one of those on an offensive rebound and another on a drive to the basket, and four of four shots from the free throw line late in the game for her 15 points in the fourth quarter. Booker also finished with 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocked shots to help Germantown rally from a 42-40 deficit after three quarters.
And then was Germantown’s big game with 6A contender Brandon last season. Glasgow challenged her team to bring some intensity to the game and they did, especially Booker. With assistant coaches from University of Connecticut and University of Tennessee watching, Booker had 16 points and five rebounds and led Germantown to a convincing, 53-32 victory at Brandon, breaking Brandon’s 11-game winning streak. Booker also limited one of Brandon’s top scorers, senior guard Marley Freeman, to only seven points.
Booker averaged 18.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocked shots and led Germantown to a 13-4 record and the MHSAA Class 6A runner-up finish as a sophomore. She was first team on the All-Metro Jackson team as a freshman and sophomore.
