Personality-wise, Northwestern’s new basketball signees are on opposite ends of the floor.
Robbie Beran is a low-key, “yes, sir” guy who doesn’t even know where he ranks among the nation’s top 100 recruits.
Daniel “Boo” Buie is so casual that when the Tribune requested an interview, he replied via text: “OK I’m playing fortnite so I might have to call ya back when I die.”
This is going to be fun.
Let’s start with Beran, a 6-foot-9 forward from Richmond, Va., who happens to be the highest-ranked recruit in Northwestern history. His 247Sports.com composite ranking comes in at No. 78 nationally, 10 spots higher than that of freshman Pete Nance. Vic Law was 89th in the Class of 2014. JerShon Cobb was top-100 on some lists but 135th in the composite. (The best of them all, John Shurna, landed at No. 185.)
Beran was viewed as mid-major material until he crushed it on the summer circuit and ended up with offers from Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin, among others.
“There was a time when no one was calling,” Beran said Wednesday, when he signed his letter of intent on the first day of the early signing period. “And then you look at your phone and have 20 missed calls and 80 text messages. It was pretty hectic, to be honest.”
A 4.0 student, Beran visited about 15 schools. He checked out Northwestern the weekend of the Sept. 29 football game against Michigan and bonded with NU players and coaches. Not unusual. But this is: “I fell in love with Evanston.”
He enjoyed a meal at Bat 17. He can’t remember which burger he had but said his dad ordered “The Chris Collins,” which includes American cheese, cole slaw and mayo and is served on sourdough bread.
The actual Chris Collins, Northwestern’s coach, called Beran “a long, versatile forward who brings a lot to the table. He’s very athletic, very skilled, competes on both ends of the floor, is an outstanding student-athlete and a high-character guy.”
Beran said he is not comfortable bragging about himself but believes he has a high basketball IQ and “can make the right basketball decision.”
“I’m working on getting more explosive,” he said. “Early in my high school career, I was the skinny white kid who could shoot. Now I’m trying to get above the rim off the dribble. People don’t expect me to be a shot blocker, but after I pin one, they say, ‘What just happened?’ ”
Buie, meanwhile, was initially known in basketball circles for two things. His nicknames of “Boo” and “Boo Boo” are so ingrained, he said teachers would use one on the first day of school. His dad was called “Boo Boo,” likely because of his last name, so most people shortened it to “Boo” for Daniel.
Speaking of family, Buie’s half-brother is Talor Battle, who had a spectacular career at Penn State. He is the school’s all-time leading scorer (2,213 points) and became the first player in Big Ten history to tally 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.
Battle was a somewhat under-the-radar recruit, and the 6-2 Buie at times got lost in the AAU shuffle, switching teams and being forced to change positions. He also moved from central Pennsylvania to Troy, N.Y., and now plays for Gould Academy, a boarding school in Maine.
“We already got 12 inches of snow,” said Buie, whose signed letter of intent Northwestern expected to receive Thursday morning.
Buie’s other offers came from schools such as Vermont, Boston University and St. Bonaventure, and his composite ranking of No. 305 suggests Big Ten basketball could be a stretch. But supporters point out that Bryant McIntosh (No. 214 in 2014) was also initially viewed as a mid-major guard and ended up becoming one of Northwestern’s all-time best.
Northwestern plans to sign 6-9 forward Jared Jones from suburban Atlanta in the spring. He’s a former Auburn commitment who picked the Wildcats after also considering Wake Forest and Arkansas.
DePaul
The Blue Demons signed what’s shaping up as their best recruiting class in years, maybe decades. The group of Romeo Weems, Markese Jacobs and Oscar Lopez ranks 20th nationally in the 247Sports.com team composite and third in the Big East — with the possibility of another major addition.
Weems, a 6-foot-6 forward from Michigan, is the No. 50 prospect in the country according to the composite rankings. The four-star recruit chose DePaul in May over Michigan State after averaging 23.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists as a junior.
Jacobs, a four-star point guard from Uplift, brings a local flavor to the class. The 5-11 Jacobs, a onetime Kansas commitment, is the third-ranked player in the state and the No. 8 point guard prospect in the nation.
Lopez, a three-star recruit from California, is a 6-4 shooting guard.
DePaul is still trying to get former Lincoln Park star Terrence Shannon, the state’s second-ranked recruit, back into the fold. Shannon, a 6-6 wing who is playing at IMG Academy in Florida this season, decommitted from the Blue Demons in August but named them this month as one of his six finalists with Illinois, North Carolina, Georgetown, Florida State and Texas Tech.
Loyola
The Ramblers got major contributions during their Final Four season from a trio of Chicago-area players: Simeon’s Donte Ingram (now departed) and then-freshmen Cameron Krutwig of Jacobs and Lucas Williamson of Young.
That run paid dividends locally with two area players among the three who signed Wednesday. Naperville North forward Tom Welch and Brother Rice point guard Marquise Kennedy are joined in the class by shooting guard Paxson Wojcik of La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind.
The 6-8 Welch and the 6-1 Kennedy are the Nos. 5 and 6 prospects in the state according to the composite rankings. Welch also had reported offers from Mississippi and Southern Illinois, while Kennedy chose Loyola over Wichita State, Florida State and Illinois State.
“This class fits with everything we are trying to do here — recruit high-character, tough, skilled players,” coach Porter Moser said in a statement. “Watching them interact with our coaches, staff and players, you could tell that all three were perfect fits for Loyola. The underlying theme with all three individuals was how much winning mattered to them.”
tgreenstein@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
sryan@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @sryantribune
