A lot of basketball fans have heard of Northwestern point guard Boo Buie, but very few know that his actual name is Daniel Buie.
“I know his name is Daniel because I see some of the formal, legal things we have to sign, but he has always been Boo,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said in an exclusive with The Sports Bank at the Chicago Sports Museum.
Chicago College Basketball Tip-Off Exclusives
Chris Collins Drew Valentine Boo Buie
At the same event, the 2023 Chicago College Basketball Tip-Off Luncheon at Harry Caray’s Water Tower Place, we had an exclusive with Boo Buie as well. The first question we asked him is, ‘who calls you Boo and who calls you Daniel?
“Eveyrone calls me Boo, unless we’re going medical, or government, then they might call me Daniel. A majority of people call me boo,” he answered.
But what about ‘Baba Booey Baba Booey?’
“I get Baba Booey all the time,” he responded. “I think that’s from the Minions movie.”
As you can see from the clip above, he’s right. But it has another meaning too. The phrase, according to Know Your Meme, “is often shouted as a verbal prank during moments of high tension and live TV broadcasts.
“Originally said by the executive producer of The Howard Stern Show Gary Dell’Abate when he misstated the name of cartoon character Baba Looey, the catchphrase then caught on first among the cast of the show, and then in the popular culture in general. In 2020, the catchphrase was popularized in memes after YouTuber twomad started using it in his videos.”
So there you have it.
Buie returns as a preseason first team all-conference pick this year, after earning All-Big Ten First Team honors and leading the Cats to their second ever NCAA Tournament berth last term.
The Albany, native averaged 17.3 points, 4.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals during 2022-23. He scored in double figures 31 times. But now he, as well as fellow seasoned, veteran guard Ty Berry, are back for one last ride.
Collins discussed what motivated Buie to come back:
“I think he felt like there was more to achieve, as great of a season as we had, and as well, individually, as he played, there was more to do with his legacy and the program.
And a big part of that is winning, and the guys that are coming back, they understand the magnitude of what they did last year and how special that was, but last year is over.”
Northwestern entered last season with no expectations from anyone outside their program. They ended up finishing second in the Big Ten and reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
This year they have moderate, decent, but not astronomically high expectations. We’ll see how it pans out.
“We’re still on the hunt, we’re super hungry,” Boo Buie continued.
“There’s six new guys, but our camaraderie and togetherness makes it feel like those guys have been here more than a couple months,” Buie said.
“Like multiple years even.
“We return four of our core guys who played a major role last season and I think those guys have done a great job of filling in the new guys.”
We also asked who Buie models his game on/looks up to/draws comparisons to.
“I really like to watch Trae Young,” he said.
“I feel like my game kind of compares to him the most, in terms of being to able to get guys open and also that little floater shot that he has.”
It’s certainly a great comp and a lofty goal, as Young, a former McDonald’s All-American and NCAA record setter at Oklahoma, has really developed into a star in the NBA.
The Atlanta Hawks point guard has made the NBA All-Star team in two of his four years in the league.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager 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’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.