As Northwestern led Iowa 23-17 late in the first half, freshman guard K.J. Windham caught the ball at the logo with just three seconds to work with on the shot clock.
In the five years prior, the Wildcats (16-13, 7-11 Big Ten) would have relied on former guard Boo Buie to provide a spark in such situations. Yet, with the program’s all-time leading scorer departed, Windham conjured his best Buie impression.
The freshman drove at Iowa guard Drew Thelwell, crossed the ball between his legs and accelerated into a left-handed running floater from near the elbow that found nothing but net as he mirrored the NU great’s signature move.
“He definitely paved the way,” Windham said of Buie. “He’s an all-time guard here, and watching him last year made me want to be out there.”
“He loves Boo,” chimed in junior forward Nick Martinelli, sitting beside Windham in the postgame press conference.
In NU’s 68-57 Friday win over the Hawkeyes (15-14, 6-12 Big Ten), Windham emulated “Agent Zero” in more ways than one, leading all scorers with 20 points and appearing more aggressive than ever with the rock in his hands.
While Windham delivered strong performances on the road against Oregon, Ohio State and Minnesota, NU fans witnessed the fruits of his rapid development in-person for the first time Friday.
“We were joking with him today because he really hadn’t had a great game at home,” coach Chris Collins said. “I said, ‘Man, you might need to change your routine or something, because we need you to be that guy at home tonight’ — and he certainly was.”
Just three and a half minutes into the game, Windham checked in for sophomore guard Jordan Clayton and made an instant impact, placing in a second-chance layup to put NU up 6-4. For the next six minutes, Windham became the centerpiece of the ’Cats’ offense — he took six of NU’s 10 field goal attempts over that stretch, splashing two threes and scoring eight points.
Windham continued to fearlessly launch the three ball throughout the night, shooting 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. When he crossed up Hawkeye guard Brock Harding and swished a sidestep three to put NU ahead 46-38 with 12:26 to play, an already rowdy Welsh-Ryan Arena let out a collective gasp.
While Windham has made strides in several areas, his most notable improvement has come in 3-point shooting. Over his last five games, the Indianapolis native has shot 45.8% from distance, compared to a meager 20.5% on the season prior to that spell.
Parallel to his shooting growth has come an improved mastery of the floor as Windham adjusts to the point guard position, which he seldom played before arriving at NU.
“For a while, his head was spinning there a little bit,” Collins said. “I really just talked to him about … trying to be more free of mind and knowing that there’s going to be mistakes made, as freshmen do, but just hopefully get him to be a little bit more instinctive and get more in attack mode.”
Martinelli had led the team in scoring in five of NU’s previous six games, including a dominant 29-point performance last time out against Minnesota. But, as Iowa swarmed the Big Ten’s top scorer in the paint, Martinelli struggled to sink his signature left-handed flippers, compelling his teammates to take a larger role in the offense.
Martinelli said his faith in Windham to deliver began before the freshman had even committed to NU and grew over the course of months in practice.
“This started on his visit, we were playing one-on-one for three hours — me, him and his brother just talking ball, and I just knew he loved ball,” Martinelli said. “And that’s where you kind of develop trust, knowing that people want to put in the work.”
With Senior Night coming up on Monday against UCLA, the ’Cats are preparing to bid farewell to three program stalwarts in senior guard Brooks Barnhizer, graduate student guard Ty Berry and graduate student center Matthew Nicholson.
Each of the three soon-to-be graduates played crucial roles in the team’s trip to consecutive NCAA tournaments and its revitalization after a four-year period of languishing in the bottom three of the Big Ten. Of the players who saw the floor in both March Madness appearances, only Martinelli will remain next season.
Yet, just as the most remarkable era in NU basketball history draws to a close, a new sun rises. If he continues stacking performances like Friday’s, Windham could prove to be the shining star that leads the next generation to greater heights.
“That’s what a program is about,” Collins said. “There’s people who paved the way for you, and now it’s these guys’ time to hopefully elevate us and move us into the future.”
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