Shortly after Northwestern had just blown out his Michigan State Spartans, legendary coach Tom Izzo articulated the developmental journey that Boo Buie has been on these past five years. Izzo described the seasoned veteran as someone who began his career as “a selfish, out-of-control player,” but then developed into “one of the best players in the Big Ten…He runs their team.”
Izzo added that Buie “didn’t take a bad shot all night.” So how did the Northwestern point guard do it?
He was so clutch in a game like this. ? pic.twitter.com/LJ2P1p6rq2
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 18, 2024
“A funny word- process,” the all-time MSU program patriarch explained.
Experience, things that are illegal today, and Chris (Collins, Northwestern head coach) hung with him. And I say that in total respect. I absolutely adore guys who figure it out, go through the process, hang around, see what they got to do better. To me, he’s a better defender (than when he wads a freshman at NU), better passer, plays within himself. I’m a big fan.”
Boo Buie ‘s career 232 three-point field goals made ranks tied (with Drew Crawford) for fourth in Wildcat history. Boo Buie recently moved into 2nd place on the Northwestern career assist leaderboard with 533, passing Michael “Juice” Thompson (528).
He’s currently 175 points behind John Shurna, to the become the program’s all-time leading scorer.
Given that he’s averaging about 18ppg, and there are at least 14 games left this season, he should hit that milestone pretty comfortably.
Said Collins in response to Izzo’s Boo Buie comments:
“Coach Izzo’s been around forever. There’s no one I respect more in this game for what he’s done, outside of my own coach (Mike Krzyzewski), my mentor, who I learned from. Coach Izzo is someone I have studied from afar and modeled kind of what we want our program to be about.
“I take it as a compliment. I know how he believes things… it’s a testament to someone, who has come in as a freshman, and learned and gotten better. That’s a novel idea in today’s day and age.”
Collins then articulated the Albany native’s growth and development this season. And boy did we see that in the Maryland game the other night!
“He had some great games as a freshman but he had to learn how to be a point guard,” Collins continued.
He had to work on shot selection, how to manage a game, he had to become a better defender.”
ICYMI: This play from Boo to end the 1st Half last night was RIDICULOUS. Coast-to-Coast in 3.6 seconds. The Hoops IQ here…he thinks to execute a head-fake at the logo and earns a floater inside the arc.
The man is Mozart out there?? pic.twitter.com/xiClCbkNIh
— West Lot Pirates (@westlotpirates) January 18, 2024
He’s had full trust in the coaches… he has trusted me and our staff with his development, and it’s really cool to see the process play out. And now you see a finished product of a guy who’s as good as any guard in the country, in my opinion.”
Boo Buie currently ranks fifth in the Big Ten in both points (18.3) and assists (4.9) per game. He is the only high major program individual player in the nation that is currently averaging 18-plus points and 4.9-plus assists per game.
He’s an obvious Northwestern basketball player Mt. Rushmore (we’ll cover this concept tomorrow) and arguably, the greatest Wildcats individual men’s basketball player of all-time.
And for his take on what Izzo said about him? Here that is below:
“That’s awesome from a legendary coach that I’ve gotten better, so to receive a compliment from such a good coach, that’s really cool.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.