![]() Looking back, Booker believes the diversity of his upbringing has made him more relatable to people and teammates of different backgrounds. But once I got there, they embraced me, they took me in and I ended up getting more intact with that side of my family also, my dad’s side, it was a really important time.” At the time, I was treating it as going away to prep school and my father was going to be there training me. But I had many conversations with my dad. “At first, just being out of your comfort zone was a thing for me. ”I don’t think any kid can just make that move that I made but I understood the goal that was at hand and I just embraced the Mississippi culture, you know, the inner city and it was good for me,” Booker said. Those three years with his father helped Devin land at a national powerhouse in Kentucky but also exposed him to an environment much different than he’d been accustomed to Michigan. Since Melvin was playing basketball overseas most of his life, the one-on-one that he got with his father was good for him.” “Division I colleges were already pursuing him. I still have mixed feelings about it,” Gutierrez wrote. “Letting Devin leave Michigan was by far the hardest decision of my life. He convinced Gutierrez and Devin on a move to Mississippi before his sophomore year in high school so that he could be trained and prepared to play at a big-time college. Eventually, Melvin ended his career to return home to coach his high school team and focus on his son. ![]() Gutierrez allowed Booker, then 12, to visit his father one spring break in Milan, where the son played one-on-one with a future pro in Danilo Gallinari and showed the potential of being a special player. Melvin Booker got to break a sweat on a few NBA teams but mostly played overseas in Turkey, Russia and Italy. But getting to the age that I’m at now, understanding how important that is, that’s a part of me, something that I’m growing to realize. When I was a kid, I was always on the go, either outside playing basketball or something, so when it was time when my mom wanted to go to the other side of Michigan to hang with my Mexican side of the family, it wasn’t really a priority for me. I think when you’re young, you don’t really understand it that much. “I’m finally to the age where I realize I can ask questions and she’s breaking it all down to me,” Booker, 23, said. Now, Booker routinely quizzes his mother on their family history, hoping that she shares some knowledge on his past that can inspire his future. “Devin had the kind of relationship with him that was distant but you always knew he was there,” Booker’s mother wrote in an email. Booker was always aware of his Mexican heritage but never felt a strong desire to delve into that side of his background until he lost his Papa. Jesus Gutierrez - who went by “Jesse,” to most - was originally from Mexico, growing up in a large family of 15 brothers and sisters in Nuevo León before later settling in Michigan. Those weekend visits growing up came flashing back to Booker two years ago, when his grandfather passed away. She just always talked about his character and how loving he was, and just how he was the backbone of the family.” “He always helped my mom out when she was in need, which was really important for me. “He was just a really caring guy,” Booker said of his grandfather in a recent telephone conversation with The Athletic.
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