Behind the 36 hours of heartbreak for Northwestern basketball, and a resolve the team adopted from it

EVANSTON, Ill. - Chris Collins was heartbroken on January 26, 2020.

He was wrestling emotionally, like the entire basketball world was, with the news that Kobe Bryant had died. 

Collins' relationship with Bryant began when their dads, Doug Collins and Joe Bryant, were teammates for the 76ers and continued when Collins coached Bryant through USA Basketball.

There Collins was, picking up the pieces of a broken heart. He somehow had to coach against Ohio State and conduct a recruiting visit.

That recruit was so struck by the passion Collins had for a player he worked with, he drew a photo of Bryant's Laker uniform and sent it to Collins. That was how Brooks Barnhizer committed to Northwestern basketball.

"He just said, When I saw your passion and how much you cared, that was when I knew I wanted to play for you," Collins said through tears.

On February 1, 2025, Collins announced through a broken heart and tears that Barnhizer's Northwestern career was over. He had suffered a foot injury to the same foot that kept him out for the first four games of the 2024-2025 season.

The moment was gut-wrenching. When asked for an update on Barnhizer after Northwestern's 75-69 loss to No. 17 Wisconsin, Collins spoke for an extra minute before saying Barnhizer was shut down for the rest of the season. It was almost as if it would be true if he didn't physically say it.

A purple towel caught all of Collins' tears. It did little to help tape his heart back together. 

The reality is the player that became a cornerstone of Northwestern's last two NCAA Tournament berths, authoring one of the most clutch moments in program history in the process, has played his last game. It was a 10-point outing in Wednesday's loss to Rutgers.

After that game, Collins said a decision needed to be made.

Barnhizer's injury would get worse if he played on it. It was still affecting his performance too much. After heart-to-heart talks between Barnizer and Collins, Collins said he left it to Barnhizer. He would never make a player's decision for them.

Barnhizer told the team Friday he would miss the rest of the season. It was a heavy day for Northwestern basketball.

"I wish, wish I could take on the broken foot so he could play 10 more games," Collins said. "I really wish I could, but it's not how life works. It's not always fair."

The 'Cats carried that heart break into Saturday morning. Somehow, they had to play without their primary offensive option and team leader.

That emotion gave way to a mantra: play for Brooks.

"We just wanted to play for Brooks to be honest," Northwestern guard Jalen Leach said. "He obviously does a lot for us as a team, but also as a leader. So we knew we all had to step it up on the defensive end, offensive end, everything. So, we just kind of bonded together from that."

Playing for Barnhizer doesn't just mean play for him. It also means play like him.

Play like the senior who took a charge, in practice no less, and had his front teeth knocked out by a manager in the process.

Play like the player whose exclamation-mark dunk against Indiana resulted in a flip onto the court and a cut nose.

Play like the player who sacrificed his body every game for a Northwestern basketball program that reveled in success because of those moments.

This meant diving for loose balls. Be physical and drive to the basket. Northwestern can win games doing that. Freshman Angelo Ciaravino and KJ Windham did that in the first half as NU built a halftime lead on Wisconsin.

"That's what I used to do. That's the only way I got on the court," Northwestern forward Matt Nicholson said. "Seeing them do that, I mean it makes my heart warm, but that's what we need. We need that kind of energy. We need that kind of effort every play throughout the game. I mean every possession. It can come down to one possession, like our Indiana game, having it can come down to that last shot and diving on that floor one time can win the game."

Northwestern ran out of gas in the end. The ‘Cats couldn’t complete the upset.

What the 'Cats saw on Saturday was that resolve at work. Play like Brooks, leave everything on the court, and they can win games. Nicholson saw the correlation.

"You can't count us out yet. We got a lot of games ahead of us," Nicholson said. "If we play how we did today, I'm confident that we'll be able to do something this year for the rest of these games."

Those games will come. Saturday was the first game where NU sorely missed Barnhizer's 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds per game and 4.2 assists per game. Barnhizer was on the bench, as if he were another coach, but the reality is one of the greatest Wildcats to ever play for the program had a career cut short.

That was the reality on Saturday. NU's new resolve can make a different reality down the road. 

"It's been a tough day and I'm proud of my team," Collins said. "I know we're gonna keep fighting. I promise you guys."