Diving for a loose ball in the final moments, Brooks Barnhizer quickly got up and called a timeout. So far, his scouting report has looked pretty accurate. The 23-year-old played like a Red Bull can compensating for a lack of jumper with extra-effort plays.
Barnhizer finished with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting and 13 rebounds. He shot 1-of-2 from 3 and went 2-of-3 on free throws. He also had a steal.
The Oklahoma City Thunder dropped a 92-80 Summer League loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. But the results don’t matter in this environment. Instead, how Barnhizer looked mattered more. He lived up to his Northwestern tape.
The board numbers pop out. Barnhizer was a great rebounder for his size at Northwestern. Looks like that strength easily translates to Summer League competition. Remains to be seen in the NBA, though. But the two-way player doesn’t need to be a miss-shot magnet to be a positive on the court.
Everything advertised about Barnhizer was shown in his Summer League debut. He can’t score but can do a whole lot of else. He could swing a game in the Thunder’s favor by winning on the margins. You saw that when he chased after a loose ball despite the score.
“I think I played pretty well. Definitely a learning experience for sure and excited to build on it,” Barnhizer said. “I definitely think I competed. Maybe I just got to be a little smarter. Knowing when to be aggressive on defense and when not to be. Doing what I’m told on offense and try to take pressure off Ajay and Top.”