He does not care much to talk about his reinvention as a basketball player, how he grew from the guy with a knack for making just the wrong decision at just the wrong time in his first few seasons at Northwestern into one of the best point guards in college basketball. That is last year’s story. It fit then, but not now.
If you don’t know Boo Buie, though, you don’t know the story.
And a lot of people who are turning on the 2024 edition of NCAA March Madness may be introduced for the first time to the young man with the cascading braids and unlimited shooting range when No. 9 seed Northwestern challenges reigning national champion Connecticut in Sunday’s second-round game in Brooklyn.
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If the Wildcats are to be the team that eliminates UConn from the NCAA Tournament and leaves the 2007 Florida Gators standing as the last team to win consecutive titles, Buie will have more than a little to do with it. He has been at the heart of the first Northwestern teams ever to reach the NCAAs in consecutive years, winning first-team All-Big Ten honors twice – he is the first NU player ever chosen unanimously -- and honorable mention All-America this season. He became the school’s career scoring leader this season and now has accumulated 2,178 points.
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Northwestern only has been to the tournament three times in its history, all under Collins, but has advanced every time, this time with Friday’s overtime victory over FAU.
“When I grew up, this is the way it was. You came in as a freshman, and you had to figure things out … That’s what happened with Boo. I threw him into the fire right away,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said after the Wildcats popped up on the NCAA bracket. Again, for the first time ever.
“For us to continue to just stay together – I’m sure there were times when he was really frustrated. There were times I was frustrated. But we never bailed on each other. It was always like, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this.’
BOO BUIE 🔥🔥 NORTHWESTERN IS COOKING FAU IN OVERTIME 😳#MarchMadness | @booboo_buie pic.twitter.com/J4uxLWcapG
— Hoops Nation (@_HoopsNation) March 22, 2024
“He’s been amazing. Forget about as a player, just to see his personal growth as a man, as a leader — those are the things as a coach you value more. You love the winning, you love the development piece… for him to be here for five years and watch him grow into the man he is now is pretty special.”
In Buie’s first three seasons, most of them with him in charge at point guard, Northwestern went 16-43 in Big Ten play and only came close once to an overall .500 season.
There was considerable conversation in the NU community about whether the time for a coaching change was approaching. Collins made some changes after the last of those disappointing seasons, including hiring former Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery to run the program’s defense. The Wildcats immediately improved from No. 73 in defensive efficiency to No. 22.
One thing Collins did not change: ownership of the point guard position. Buie has started every game the past two seasons, with the Wildcats winning 66 percent and finishing top-3 in each of the past two Big Ten regular seasons. They had not enjoyed consecutive winning records in Big Ten play in more than 60 years.
| 2017 | Beat Vanderbilt, lost to Gonzaga |
| 2023 | Beat Boise State, lost to UCLA |
| 2024 | Beat Florida Atlantic, vs. UConn |
There might have been some logic to moving on. Buie never averaged more than 2 turnovers in those first three seasons, but those who watched recognized how often his decisions became costly in competitive games. Now, as a fifth-year senior, he shoots 44.7 percent from the field, 44.1 percent on threes and averages 19.3 points, 5.1 assists and 1.4 steals.
Buie is from Albany and played at Troy High School not far from the New York capital, as well as at Gould Academy in Maine. He comes from a basketball family, with brother Talor Battle standing as Penn State's leading career scorer – imagine that, brothers as the top scorers at two programs in the same major conference -- and Taran Buie having played at both Penn State and Hofstra.
For the past three seasons, Battle served a member of the Northwestern coaching staff.
"When I was coming out of high school – there's a poster in my locker. It says, like 318th national rank. When I was coming out of high school, that's what they thought of me," Buie said. "But Coach, he thought otherwise.
"Northwestern and Coach Collins were the only high-major offer I had coming out of high school. I always was a very competitive person and thought higher of myself than anyone else does. I knew I had to capitalize on the opportunity."
And he did. Maybe it took a while, but he's making it last longer than anyone – anyone else -- imagined.
