Northwestern's Barnhizer Reveals Teammate Convinced Him Not to Transfer

The first Northwestern NBA draft pick in 26 years almost left the Wildcats after one season.

Feb 28, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; Northwestern Wildcats guard Brooks Barnhizer (13) shoots over Maryland Terrapins forward Donta Scott (24) during the first half at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

During Brooks Barnhizer's four years at Northwestern, he led the team to the NCAA Tournament twice, became one of 42 players in program history to score 1,000 career points and helped redefine the culture and what it means to be a Wildcat. However, Barnhizer's legacy in Evanston almost wasn't written.

At a post-practice press conference on Wednesday, the newest draftee of the Oklahoma City Thunder revealed that he nearly transferred from Northwestern after his freshman season. Barnhizer struggled to crack NU's rotation in 2021-22, and in 11 appearances, he averaged just 1.7 points on 23.1% shooting.

That led Barnhizer to seek advice from his captain, Pete Nance, who instilled confidence in the freshman's abilities and assured him that everything would work out if he stayed the course.

"I remember going to him and being like, 'I don’t know if I can play at this level,'" Barnhizer said. "I didn’t play as a freshman and I was struggling, and I was just like, 'Do you think I should move down? Do you think I should go somewhere where I’ll play?' He was like, 'Bro, just stay patient. You’re going to be a really good player someday.'"

Nance, now on a two-way contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, reached out to Barnhizer ahead of his draft night to wish him well. Another former captain of Barnhizer's, Boo Buie, called him as well after the Thunder picked him in the second round. Barnhizer acknowledged these "full circle moments."

"Those connections, they'll be lifelong," Barnhizer said. "The thing about life is, you know the sun is always going to come up regardless of the situation that happened yesterday. Got to keep one foot in front of the other and keep getting better, but it was really cool to have that moment Thursday for sure."