Bouncing back

The support from fans, students and the media this season was new for Buie. In his first three seasons, the Wildcats only won 32 games combined, and Buie received his share of criticism. But Buie says as long as there is positivity within the coaching staff and the players, everything flows really well.

Ignoring the outside noise can be challenging for high-profile players. Athletes at the highest level have opened up about their mental health struggles and discussed how public negativity can be difficult to overcome. Buie says he used his first three seasons — and all the pessimism that came with them — as a learning experience.

“Life is imperfect, so there are always going to be challenges,” Buie says. “There are always going to be ups and downs. So going through all the downs, all the tough games and hard losses, it just built me up and gave me more character as a man on and off the court. It made me a better player and really built my mental toughness.”

To prepare for his senior season, Buie says he sacrificed going out, video games and much of his free time to improve in the offseason. During the season, however, Buie found time at the end of the day to play Fortnite or watch his favorite show, Breaking Bad

These moments provided a short reprieve from the grind that student-athletes like Buie face at Northwestern. For much of the season, Buie had class straight through the morning until 1:00 p.m. Once he got out of class, he would eat before heading to the gym for practice.

With the music of his favorite artist Lil Baby to hype him up, Buie would practice for nearly four hours, always making sure to get in some extra shots before hitting the showers. On most days, Buie would not leave the gym until around 7:00 p.m.

Like many athletes, Buie makes sure to maintain a healthy diet during the season. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t save room for his favorite pregame and postgame snack.

“I only eat Rice Krispies Treats, bro,” Buie says. “That’s my favorite thing. If you ask anybody on the team, they’ll tell you that all I eat is Rice Krispies Treats.”

“Not only is he a Rice Krispies fiend, he is a connoisseur,” Beran says. “He is able to tell the difference between the ones we get from the facility and the ones from Sam’s Club.”

Buie will graduate this June. With his extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes because of COVID-19, Buie will get a master’s degree in his final year at Northwestern.

Northwestern’s success this season was largely due to Buie’s growth as a leader and a shot creator. Buie credits his teammates for believing in him and giving him the ball, trusting that he would make the right decision.

Barnhizer says Buie was a huge mentor and leader for him as a freshman. With Buie’s help, Barnhizer stepped into a bigger role this past season. He says Buie encouraged him to be aggressive, helping him take his game to the next level.

“He enjoyed throwing me the ball,” Barnhizer says. “He didn’t do it because he had to. He knew I could help the team and we both really wanted to win, so I feel like that’s why we got along so well this year.”

While Buie is a fierce competitor, Barnhizer says fans don’t see the “real Boo.” Barnhizer says he is chill, down-to-earth and will do anything to hang out with his teammates.

Barnhizer remembers having a conversation in the locker room with Buie after Nance and Young transferred. They discussed the upcoming season and agreed they could be a part of something really special. Sometimes, Buie’s leadership bordered on confrontational, but Barnhizer says that is what the team needed.

“I think that is why he is such a good leader,” Barnhizer says. “He just wanted to win so badly.”

Buie has high praise for Barnhizer, who strung together seven straight double-digit scoring performances toward the end of his sophomore season.

“I definitely see Brooks taking a big leap,” Buie says. “Brooks came along big time at the end of the season, and I think his confidence just really grew. He’s going to shock a lot of people if they’re not already expecting big things from him.”