Northwestern's Brooks Barnhizer Lands on ESPN's NBA Draft Big Board
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More basketball players are returning to college than ever before, largely due to rule changes allowing NCAA athletes to be paid via NIL.
That opens up opportunities for players like Northwestern's Brooks Barnhizer. The talented wing may not have been selected in the NBA Draft in prior years after a foot injury ended his senior season early, but with hordes of underclassmen opting to stay in college for longer, the former Wildcat captain could certainly sneak into the second round.
Despite not being medically cleared in time to participate in the G League Elite Camp, Barnhizer has still received interest from NBA teams leading up to the draft. The 6-foot-6 versatile scorer and defender worked out for the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, and has been climbing up draft boards.
On Friday, Barnhizer received a significant ranking from ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony, who listed the former Northwestern captain as the No. 85 player in the class. With only 59 picks in this year's draft, he would still be on the outside looking in, but Barnhizer is much closer to a selection now than before the masses of underclassmen withdrew from the player pool.
According to Givony, 18 of ESPN's previous top 100 are returning to college next season. The NBA announced that 50 players total withdrew from the draft ahead of Wednesday's deadline, including NU forward Nick Martinelli.
Northwestern has not had a player selected in the NBA Draft since Evan Eschmeyer went in the second round in 1999, and just two Wildcats have been picked since the event moved to a two-round format in 1989. Barnhizer has the size, physicality and intangibles to break that streak, but he'll need some stellar team workouts after months without basketball activity.
The NBA Draft will be held on June 25 and 26 in Brooklyn, New York.
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Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.
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