Northwestern coach Chris Collins announced that team captain and senior guard Brooks Barnhizer is out for the remainder of the season with a foot injury following NU’s 75-69 loss to Wisconsin Saturday.
Through tears, Collins explained that Barnhizer had suffered a new injury in the team’s Jan. 12 loss to Michigan State which threatened to end his season, but the Lafayette, Indiana native “begged” to play in the team’s next game against Maryland. Barnhizer played in five games following the injury, but did not practice between those contests, Collins said.
After NU’s loss to Rutgers Wednesday, Collins decided to shut Barnhizer down.
“Not only was he not moving well, but I could see that it was just mentally killing him because he couldn’t do the things that he wanted to do,” Collins said.
Barnhizer was averaging a career-best 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.3 steals this season.
“He had set everything up to have this be the best year yet, to lead this program and to take us to new heights,” Collins said. “To have the injuries derail that, it’s unfair.”
In his four seasons donning purple and white, Barnhizer was a key contributor to NU’s back-to-back March Madness appearances. Last season, he scored a game-tying layup to send the ’Cats into overtime in their first-round tournament matchup with Florida Atlantic.
But Barnhizer’s relationship with Collins began long before he helped NU write new chapters of success.
Collins recalled that Barnhizer’s first recruiting visit to Northwestern came on the same day former NBA star Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash. After the visit, Collins said Barnhizer sent him a picture he had drawn of Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers uniform.
According to Collins, Barnhizer told him, “‘When I saw your passion and how much you cared, that was when I knew I wanted to play for you.’”
Barnhizer suffered a separate foot injury in August that prevented him from participating in the Wildcats’ preseason tour of Italy and part of NU’s non-conference slate. Throughout the regular season, Barnhizer continued to be banged up, knocking his two front teeth out in practice and taking a hard fall on his nose late in NU’s win over Indiana.
“He’d run through the wall for you,” Collins said. “He’d run through the wall for a teammate.”
Email: elikronenberg2027@u.northwestern.edu
Email: audreypachuta2027@u.northwestern.edu
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