By Joseph Staszewski
Malik Boothe joined his former St. John’s teammates D.J. Kennedy and Paris Horne as big money winners this summer. Now, he should join them as professional basketball players.
That was supposed to happen last season. The 5-foot-9 Boothe, who led Sean Bell to the Ball Up Million Dollar Summer Challenge title Aug. 3, was expecting to play for the Halifax Rainmen of the National Basketball League of Canada last fall. Instead, he got a disappointment. The Rainmen changed coaches and Boothe’s spot on the roster went to another player.
“I was keeping myself ready,” he said. “There were some things that were almost going to happen for me, but they didn’t. It was disappointing that I didn’t get to go anywhere.”
So instead of taking to the court and doing what he loves for a living, Boothe was stuck at home in Queens doing odd jobs and working out. At this point, he isn’t sure if he will land anywhere this fall.
Even so, his determination hasn’t flagged. Boothe continues to play well and continues to win. The former Christ the King standout still plays bigger than he is and is still a top defender. What has changed is the way he attacks things on the offensive end. He is looking to score more and has improved his skills in order to do so.
“I don’t think I made much of a change in terms of scoring,” he said. “I think I made a change in actually looking to score. I’ve always had the ability to score. My teammates are always telling me to score. I’ve really been able to flip the switch like everybody wanted me to.”
He showed off his improved offensive game at Dyckman last week. Boothe knocked down jumpers, scored in traffic and buried a go-ahead bucket in the closing seconds of Rodney Park’s 85-84 victory over Skull Gang in a battle of the league’s top teams.
In the final of the Ball Up tournament, Boothe tallied 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks to lead Sean Bell, representing New York City, to a 78-64 victory over the Cheaters of Los Angeles, claiming the $500,000 team check for the tourney’s winners. He had a big acrobatic layup and three-pointer in the second half.
He spoke with Kennedy and Horne before and after the latter two’s team took home the $1 million prize for winning The Basketball Tournament. Their team actually knocked Boothe’s out, but he was still happy for them and the attention they all brought to the St. John’s program.
“It was a big week for me and my brothers,” Boothe said.
He enjoys the passion with which the Johnnies’ fan base follows his career and the appreciation it has for his game.
“It means a lot to me because they just didn’t embrace us just when we were there,” Boothe said. “Once we graduated they are still interested in checking in on us and what we are doing,”
What Boothe is doing should include playing professionally. He’s proved over the last two years on the streets of New York City that he is a winner and a more complete player than ever before.
