Phil Booth signed a deal with the National Basketball Association's Washington Wizards Friday afternoon. Booth signed an "Exhibit 10" deal with the Wizards, earning him a training camp invitation with an opportunity to earn a two-way deal with the franchise as it heads towards 2019-20.
Booth is a Baltimore, Md., native who has attended Wizards games with his father,
Phil Booth Sr., for years. Booth starred at Mt. Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore before embarking on a five year stint at Villanova, where he was a part of two national championship teams. The guard was a unanimous first team All-BIG EAST choice in 2018-19 while helping to lead the Wildcats to a 26-10 record that included the BIG EAST regular season and tournament titles. In addition, he was earned the Dave Gavitt Award as the Most Outstanding Player at the BIG EAST Tournament in March.Â
"We're proud of Phil," stated Villanova head coach
Jay Wright. "We know he is going to take full advantage of this opportunity with the Wizards."
In July, Booth averaged 11.3 points per game in the NBA Summer League while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers in Las Vegas. With this signing, seven members of the 2016 NCAA national championship team are assured of being in NBA training camps in September. The list includes: Booth, Ryan Arcidiacono (Chicago),
Mikal Bridges (Phoneix),
Jalen Brunson (Dallas),
Donte DiVincenzo (Milwaukee), Josh Hart (New Orleans),
Eric Paschall (Golden State).
Â