Auburn returned to the NBA Draft on Thursday night when the Philadelphia 76ers selected Tigers center Johni Broome with the fifth pick in the second round.
Auburn had a connection to the player chosen nine picks later, too. The Oklahoma City Thunder took Northwestern guard Brooks Barnhizer, who started his high school career at Alma Bryant in Irvington, at No. 44 in the 79th NBA Draft.
Barnhizer’s father, Mark Barnhizer, played for Auburn in the 1976-77, 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons.
For the 2015-16 season, Mark Barnhizer left Indiana to become the boys’ basketball coach at Alma Bryant, with Brooks Barnhizer in the lineup as a seventh-grader and older brother, Braxton Barnhizer, on the way to All-State recognition in the 2017-18 season.
After three seasons with the Hurricanes, the Barnhizers returned to Indiana, where Mark coached Brooks at Jefferson High School in Lafayette for three more seasons.
At Northwestern, Barnhizer averaged 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game during his senior season.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.