Friendship is magic
How seniors Audige, Beran and Buie helped Wildcats rebound and enjoy ‘special’ season
On an unseasonably warm March night, Northwestern students waited in line outside more than an hour before tipoff of the final home men’s basketball game of the season. For the past few weeks, sellout crowds had packed Welsh-Ryan Arena to see the resurgent Wildcats. They had won five of their last seven games — and expectations in Evanston were starting to rise.
About 20 minutes before tipoff, the arena lights dimmed and the video board began to play a highlight reel of the 2022-23 season set to an instrumental version of Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares.”
It was senior night. Fans were able to relive some of the team’s greatest moments, many featuring the trio of Chase Audige, Robbie Beran and Boo Buie.
It was a time of celebration for the purpleclad faithful. And while the crowd was caught up in the euphoria of all the recent good fortune, the players were remembering the journey.
That’s the thing about highlight reels: The video board didn’t show all they went through to get to that moment. It was all glory, no story.
“It’s honestly crazy to think that it’s been four years,” Beran told the Tribune. “I remember my first team meeting, and now I blink, blink again and then blink some more and I’m a senior. I can’t even believe it, but it’s been such a great journey. We’ve seen a lot.
“I’m not just talking about basketball or school. I’m talking about the whole complete journey. The places that this institution has brought me and the people that they’ve connected me with, I’ll be forever grateful.
“I know that we lost 13 games in a row in my younger years, but you don’t