Devin Booker, Moss Point Native, Returns to MS for Game

Former Moss Point High School basketball star, Devin Booker, will be returned to Mississippi as his Kentucky Wildcats took the court against the Bulldogs. Wednesday afternoon, News 25 spent some time with the people who know him the best.

University of Kentucky Guard, Devin Booker, is only in his freshman year, but his career on the court has already been a slam dunk. That success began in Moss Point. His father, Melvin, says Devin’s game really took off with his son’s move to Mississippi. Melvin says, "Devin was in Michigan and I was back and forth from Mississippi playing ball overseas, so we spent a lot of time apart. When Devin moved here as a sophomore, that’s when we basically spent every day together talking about life, grinding in the basketball gym, and trying to make him a better person."

While Devin received numerous accolades in high school and now in college, one teacher refused to give him special treatment. Autumn Lusk, an English teacher at Moss Point High, says, “He was a very good kid, a well-rounded child. He was always on time. I never cut him any slack whatsoever. If he was gone somewhere out of town or whatever, he always had to have his worked turned to me on time.”

While the lights at Moss Point’s Arthur Haynes Gym are quite bright, UK’s Rupp Arena packs in over 23,000 fans and those lights haven’t too bright for Devin, and that is of no surprise to anyone.

He has earned the SEC Freshman of the Week honor five times this season. He led the team in scoring last week with 14.5 points per game. His principal believes the key to Devin’s success is hard work. Jeff Mumford, Principal of Moss Point High, says, “He was always one of the first ones at practice and one of the last ones to leave, but he was just as talented as well working hard off the court with his grades. He finished in the top 10% of his class and he was a hall of famer.”

Devin’s career is off to a fast start and it appears it won’t be slowing down anytime soon.