James W. Boothe (1981) - Hall of Fame - Xavier University Athletics

James W. Boothe

Induction:
1981
Class:
1957

Jim Boothe lettered three years in basketball, is a member of the Xavier 1,000-Point Club, the XU Basketball Hall of Fame and was Basketball Team MVP in 1956. Boothe was called by many "the coach on the court" for the Musketeers during the mid-1950's, leading Xavier to two appearances in the National Invitation Tournament.

In 1956, the Musketeers defeated Saint Louis (84-80) in the first round before losing to Dayton (72-68) in the second round. In 1957, the Musketeers pounded Seton Hall (85-76) before losing big to eventual champion Bradley (116-81) in the second round. The XU records for Boothe's junior and senior years speak for themselves, 17-11 and 20-8 and two straight trips to the second round of the NIT.

After averaging 11.8 points per game as a sophomore, Boothe went on to lead the team in scoring at 16.5 ppg. as a junior, earning Team MVP honors. The scoring average fell to 11.3 ppg. his senior year, due in great part to the balanced Musketeer attack. He finished his Xavier career with 1,085 points, which ranks 44th in Musketeer history.

Boothe's successful junior year included being named All-NIT and MVP of the Queen City Invitational Tournament. He also set a scoring record for juniors at Xavier with 462 points. The record now belongs to XU All-Time leading scorer Byron Larkin (792 points).

The honor student, who received his master's degree in education from Xavier in 1961, prepped at Dayton High School in Kentucky.

BOOTHE'S XAVIER CAREER STATS

Yr.	Gms.	FGM-FGA	PCT.	FTM-FTA	PCT.	REB/AVG	AST/AVG	PTS/AVG
54-55	26	124-		59-88	.670			307/11.8
55-56	28	158-420	.376	146-180	.811	102/3.6	104/3.7	462/16.5
56-57	28	116-300	.387	84-111	.757	54/1.9	59/2.1	316/11.3
Career	82	398		289-379	.763			1085/13.2