Brooks Barnhizer was at a small watch party with his family in Lafayette, Indiana, when he heard his name called in the NBA Draft.
The son of former Division I athletes, Barnhizer grew up in the sport. His brother, Braxton, plays Division II at Rollins College in Florida.
“We were always just pushing each other,” Barnhizer said Saturday at the First Americans Museum, two days after being selected 44th overall by Thunder. “They always really support me, because they know how athletes are. I had a lot of really good guidance and support growing up. I’m very grateful for that.”
Barnhizer is the first Northwestern athlete to be selected in the NBA Draft since Evan Eschmeyer in 1999, and helped the Wildcats to history during his four years in the program. Barnhizer was integral in the school’s first ever run to two consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2023 and 2024. Northwestern has only made the tournament three times in its history.
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In the 2023-24 season, he was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team and Big Ten All-Defense Team after registering 10 double-doubles.
“We’re a successful basketball school,” Barnhizer said. “We have a program that’s respectable, and I really take pride in being able to be part of the teams that changed that.”
On Thursday, Barnhizer became the second player draft by the NBA champion Thunder, joining No. 15 pick Thomas Sorber out of Georgetown.
Barnhizer and Sorber met last night in their hotel lobby, and immediately hit it off.
“I went over and introduced myself, and he just gave me great energy back,” Sorber said. “I felt like it was gonna be a good first year for both of us.”
Barnhizer’s family, natives of Indiana, wasn’t thrilled with the Thunder after the championship win over the Pacers, though Barnhizer said he always enjoyed the game more than a particular team. Since the pick, the Barnhizers have forgiven the Thunder.
“(My brother) was like ‘OK, they made up for it. They got you, so now I’m a Thunder fan as well,’” Barnhizer said.
Barnhizer, who will be wearing No. 23 for the Thunder, highlighted Alex Caruso and Lu Dort as two players he looks forward to playing with, describing their paths to success as similar to his own. Caruso and Dort both went undrafted in their respective drafts. The duo hasn’t had the easiest time to get to the starting lineup of an NBA final, starting their careers with the Oklahoma City Blue in the G-League.
In fact, when Thunder general manager Sam Presti went to Evanston last year, he had his eyes on another player. He didn’t even know who Barnhizer was.
“Within the game, I found myself watching him more than the person I was supposed to be watching,” Presti said. “We put his name down, and made sure we kept tabs on him from that point on. We’re very fortunate to have him in the program.”
Barnhizer’s senior season was cut short. Similarly to his new teammate Sorber, he found himself sidelined with a foot injury. While Sorber might not play in the summer league due to ongoing recovery, Barnhizer is ready for his first challenge as a Thunder player. He’s gone through all 16 workouts after the season-ending-injury.
The summer league will be led by assistant coaches Daniel Dixon in Salt Lake City (July 5-8) and Connor Johnson in Las Vegas (July 10-20). The league will be an early opportunity for Barnhizer to showcase his skills.
Since being selected in the draft, Barnhizer has felt the love of the Thunder community. The Paycom Center and Oklahoma City are known nationally for their loud, passionate environment.
He looks forward to giving back to the Thunder family.
“After I got drafted, all the text messages from people I don’t know in Oklahoma City, being like ‘Welcome to the family, can’t wait to get you on,’” Barnhizer said. “I can’t wait to do whatever I can do to make those fans happy, and do whatever I can do to try to get us back to being successful every year. I can’t wait to get started on that.”
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Meet Brooks Barnhizer, OKC Thunder NBA Draft pick from Northwestern