Booker's play earned him a full scholarship to play for Coach John Wooden at UCLA.
While he was among the leading scorers on his high school and junior college teams, Booker was a defensive specialist with the Bruins, and helped them win their fourth and fifth out of seven consecutive National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles under Wooden.
He sat out his initial season with UCLA in 1968–69,  redshirting to preserve his remaining two years of eligibility.
In his first year of play in 1969–70, he came off the bench to curb Geoff Petrie of Princeton and Paul Westphal of USC, who were going off against the Bruins.
Petrie had scored 26 points in 28 minutes before Booker entered the game and held him to two free throws in the final 12 minutes.
Booker played significant minutes late in the season and was a top reserve.

As a senior in 1970–71, Booker was converted from forward to guard to replace the graduated John Vallely in the starting lineup.
He was the lone new starter from the 1970 championship team, getting the nod over Andy Hill and Terry Schofield.
At 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and 185 pounds (84 kg), Booker was the team's best perimeter defender, and was called "a fine defensive and team player" by Wooden.
The Bruins started the season 14–0 before losing 89–82 to Notre Dame.
Booker began the game defending the Fighting Irish's Austin Carr, who finished the game with 46 points, but Wooden then used Schofield and Larry Hollyfield instead.
The coaching staff had instructed Booker to overplay Carr and expect help on defense if Carr drove to the basket.
 However, Wooden absolved Booker, declaring that he never received the help from the inside that was expected.
Though the loss ended a 19-game winning streak, UCLA proceeded to win their next 88 games, an NCAA record.

On February 6, 1971, Booker helped key a 64–60 comeback victory for No.
2 UCLA over No.
1 USC.
He had three steals in the final minutes as the Trojans were held to one point in the final 9:35, helping the Bruins rally from a 59–50 deficit.
Booker also scored 14 points in the game, making seven of 10 field goals.
For the season, Booker averaged 5.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, as the Bruins finished 29–1 and captured their seventh national championship in eight seasons.
Booker's play earned him a full scholarship to play for Coach John Wooden at UCLA. While he was among the leading scorers on his high school and junior college teams, Booker was a defensive specialist with the Bruins, and helped them win their fourth and fifth out of seven consecutive National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles under Wooden. He sat out his initial season with UCLA in 1968–69,  redshirting to preserve his remaining two years of eligibility. In his first year of play in 1969–70, he came off the bench to curb Geoff Petrie of Princeton and Paul Westphal of USC, who were going off against the Bruins. Petrie had scored 26 points in 28 minutes before Booker entered the game and held him to two free throws in the final 12 minutes. Booker played significant minutes late in the season and was a top reserve.
As a senior in 1970–71, Booker was converted from forward to guard to replace the graduated John Vallely in the starting lineup. He was the lone new starter from the 1970 championship team, getting the nod over Andy Hill and Terry Schofield. At 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and 185 pounds (84 kg), Booker was the team's best perimeter defender, and was called "a fine defensive and team player" by Wooden. The Bruins started the season 14–0 before losing 89–82 to Notre Dame. Booker began the game defending the Fighting Irish's Austin Carr, who finished the game with 46 points, but Wooden then used Schofield and Larry Hollyfield instead. The coaching staff had instructed Booker to overplay Carr and expect help on defense if Carr drove to the basket.  However, Wooden absolved Booker, declaring that he never received the help from the inside that was expected. Though the loss ended a 19-game winning streak, UCLA proceeded to win their next 88 games, an NCAA record.
On February 6, 1971, Booker helped key a 64–60 comeback victory for No. 2 UCLA over No. 1 USC. He had three steals in the final minutes as the Trojans were held to one point in the final 9:35, helping the Bruins rally from a 59–50 deficit. Booker also scored 14 points in the game, making seven of 10 field goals. For the season, Booker averaged 5.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, as the Bruins finished 29–1 and captured their seventh national championship in eight seasons.
Kenny Booker