Carey Booth, born July 18, 2005, is a college basketball player for Illinois in the Big Ten Conference. Before joining Illinois, he played for Notre Dame. Originally from Englewood, Colorado, Booth attended Cherry Creek High School, where he averaged 10.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game as a junior.
He later transferred to Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. Booth, a four-star recruit, initially committed to Penn State, his father’s alma mater, but decommitted after coach Micah Shrewsberry’s departure. He then followed Shrewsberry to Notre Dame before ultimately transferring to Illinois.
Carey Booth’s Father: Meet Calvin Booth, Former NBA Star and Nuggets GM
Calvin Booth, born May 7, 1976, in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, has made a lasting impact on basketball, both as a player and an executive. His career began at Penn State University, where he established himself as a dominant defender.
He earned the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award as a junior and finished his collegiate career as Penn State’s all-time leader in blocked shots. In 1998, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts before declaring for the NBA Draft.
Primarily to the Washington Wizards in the second round, Booth became the 35th overall player drafted by the NBA in 1999. Ten years in the NBA was his journey; he played for different teams, including the Dallas Mavericks, Seattle SuperSonics, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Sacramento Kings, respectively.
As an NBA player, he accumulated 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds, together with 1.0 blocks for each game. Booth achieved his highest block total of ten by playing for seventeen minutes during the SuperSonics game on January 13, 2004. Dallas Mavericks won their first playoff series since 1988 because Booth scored the go-ahead layup with 9.8 seconds remaining in Game 5 against Utah in the 2001 NBA Playoffs.
Following his retirement, Booth transitioned into an executive role. He began as a scout with the New Orleans Pelicans before joining the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he rose to director of player personnel.
KEEP READING: Illinois Basketball Transfer Portal
In 2017, he became assistant general manager at the Denver Nuggets and was named general manager in July 2020. The team was under his command when they won the first NBA title in 2023, beating the Miami Heat in five games. Currently, he is in charge of the Nuggets and is a great influence on his son, Carey Booth, a college basketball star in the making.
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