Brooks Barnhizer recaps draft journey, forecasts NBA future

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Brooks Barnhizer, fresh off a practice for his NBA team’s Summer League squad, took time to hop on a Zoom call with Northwestern and Chicago-area beat reporters about his selection as the 44th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft last Thursday.

Barnhizer is the first Wildcat to be selected since 1999, and the first coached by Northwestern head man Chris Collins.

“It was funny, I think Coach was the second phone call after [Oklahoma City general manager] Mr. Presti…,” Barnhizer said. “[Coach] was tearing up and yelling ‘You’re the first!’… It was a really special moment between us.”

In the big picture, Barnhizer was candid about how monumental this moment was for him and for the program. After reinjuring his foot last January, the star with the Iron Man reputation had to shutter his senior season after just 17 games after a Jan. 29 game against Rutgers. The silver lining was his dialogue with the coaches about what lay ahead.

“When I ended up having to shut [my season] down and get surgery, the cool conversations I got to have with the coaches was that they wanted me to be the first [draft pick since 1999] and show you can make it [to the NBA] from Northwestern,” he said. “A story like me is kind of cool because Northwestern was my only Big Ten offer.

“They really saw something in me and gave me the platform to develop… I really want other kids and other recruits to see that you can go to Northwestern, and Coach Collins and his staff will really get you to where you can be.”

MORE: For a full transcript of Barnhizer’s interview, go to The Rock message board for subscribers only.

Teammates of all kinds congratulate Barnhizer

A shocking revelation of the press conference was that Barnhizer, discouraged after freshman-year struggles, nearly transferred out of Northwestern. He played in just 11 games in 2021-22 and eyed opportunities at lower levels where he could get more playing time.

A most unlikely voice helped encourage him to stay: senior forward Pete Nance, who himself transferred out of the program that following summer, albeit to North Carolina.

Nance was in Barnhizer’s corner on draft night and was one of the first to reach out.

“Pete Nance actually texted me early before [I got drafted] because I think he was really confident in my position,” Barnhizer said. “It was cool because, when he was a senior and I was a freshman, I remember going to him and being like, ‘I don’t know if I can play at this level.’

“I barely played as a freshman and I was struggling. I was just like, ‘Do you think I should move down, go somewhere I can play?’ He was like, ‘Bro, just stay patient. You’re going to be a really good player one day.’

“And so that was definitely a full circle moment. He was just saying he was very proud of me.”

Nance was far from the only former teammate to contact Barnhizer. Two key names should come as no surprise: Boo Buie and Nick Martinelli. Barnhizer was the sixth man on the 2022-23 NCAA Tournament team that Buie helmed, and then the Robin to his Batman in the 2023-24 run to the Big Dance.

“Boo reached out, as soon as I got drafted, he FaceTimed me,” Barnhizer said. “We shared a really cool moment, and those connections will be lifelong.”

Barnhizer also got a text and call from Martinelli, who took over Barnhizer’s role as the No. 1 option after Barnhizer was hurt and wound up as the Big Ten’s leading scorer. The two former roommates plan to keep in touch, even as their basketball journeys have taken them away from each other.

“Nick texted and called me right after [I got picked],” Barnhizer said. “Me and a couple teammates we’re close with, and now we’re all scattered. We’re going to try and start a Bible study once a week to stay in touch.”

Barnhizer listed former teammate Ty Berry, as well as two players who have since transferred from the program, Parker Strauss and Blake Barkley, as the other prospective members of the study group.

“That family feel at Northwestern is something I don’t think people really get anymore because of NIL and things of that nature in college sports,” he said. “Northwestern is always going to be home for me, and I can’t wait to come back in my off seasons and keep training with those guys. That’s my second home.”

Next steps in the NBA

Barnhizer is already practicing with Oklahoma City’s Summer League team, which is set to make its debut on July 5 vs. Memphis in Salt Lake City.

As ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported, Barnhizer will start his career on a two-way contract, playing primarily with the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. The NBA club retains his exclusive rights and has the ability to call him up as needed.

The Thunder’s brain trust, Presti and head coach Mark Daigneault, has plans in the big picture for Barnhizer. But for now, they told him to go out and play his game freely with the summer squad.

“They told me to focus on Summer League, go have fun with it, be you and compete,” Barnhizer said. “Then the testament to the organization is that September 1, or whenever the young guys have to be back. That’s when my regimen of player development will start…

“I know what I need to do: be a more consistent shooter and keep pushing the envelope defensively. I’ll try to make that my staple and hopefully that gets me on the [NBA] court.”

At the NBA level, the Thunder have a trio of elite defensive guards to learn from in the starting All-NBA First Team All-Defense duo of Lu Dort and Jalen Williams, plus Alex Caruso off the bench. The extra wrinkle is that Dort and Caruso were both undrafted, while Caruso arrived in a deal with the Chicago Bulls.

“A cool point that Mr. Presti and a lot of the staff have told me is they have a really big track record of guys like me being success stories,” he said. “Caruso and Dort, those guys were undrafted, and you also have late second-round guys that have come through and really developed here and gone on to have long careers.”

In a radio spot on 670 The Score in Chicago, Collins compared Barnhizer to Caruso, a physical guard that can harry opposing ball handlers and scale up to guard forwards or even centers.

“I think he has a little Alex Caruso in him,” Collins said. “You look at how Alex grew up through the G League, undrafted; now he’s an NBA player.”

It’s uncertain how much playing time Barnhizer will have with the NBA team beyond training camp, but Caruso and Dort are two players he’s hoping to learn from.

“Guys like Caruso, Dort, I’ll just love to be in the gym with and be a sponge to,” he said. “I hope I can pick their brain and see how they guard certain things, or what should I do in these situations?

“To be in the locker room with them every day, get to know them as people and how they get better… If I can be a sponge to as many people in this organization as possible, I really feel like the only way is up.”