SAN ANTONIO
The fact that Johni Broome was taking questions in a media breakout room Friday on college basketball’s biggest stage, the Final Four, did not mean that perhaps the best (or at least second-best) player in the sport had forgotten his starting point.
“The thing I remember most about Morehead State was my friendship with my brothers,” Auburn’s 6-foot-10 forward said as his Tigers prepare to play Florida on Saturday at the Alamodome. “This was before NIL, so we were all kind of struggling a little bit all together. It made everybody more tight.”
These days, Broome is the SEC’s player of the year in leading Auburn to the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Back then, he was a gangly high school football/basketball player — “I still like to watch football more than basketball,” he said Friday — in Plant City, Florida, who learned moves around the rim from watching and replicating videos of Hakeem Olajuwon.
Despite his best efforts, Broome’s only Division I college offer came from Preston Spradlin, then the coach at Morehead State, now the head coach at James Madison. Broome hasn’t forgotten him, either.
“He’s a great coach. I credit him a lot for my success,” Broome said. “He was one of the coaches that recruited me out of high school. He saw something in me and I’m proud of what he’s doing now at James Madison.”
Auburn forward Johni Broome jokes around with teammates during a practice session Friday ahead of the Final Four at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Bob Donnan USA TODAY NETWORK
After averaging 16.8 points and 10.5 rebounds as the OVC’s defensive player of the year in 2021-22, Broome said he wanted to go to the NBA but felt he needed to prove himself a higher level first. After entering the transfer portal, his choices came down to home-state Florida, under its new coach Todd Golden, and Auburn.
“One of the first things we did was take a look at guys from the state of Florida that were producing and doing well across the college landscape,” Golden said Friday. “Obviously he popped pretty quick for what he was able to do at Morehead.
“We were fortunate enough to get in the mix, to get in the final two. I think we did a good job in a short period of time of kind of explaining our vision and kind of introducing him to our staff and kind of what we had going on.”
Still, Auburn had the upper hand. Bruce Pearl was the more established coach with the more established program. Florida still had a big man in Colin Castleton on the roster. Auburn had lost Walker Kessler and Jabari Smith. And Morehead State had played at Auburn during Broome’s sophomore season.
“Johni got a chance to play against Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler and watch what kind of phenomenal year they had,” Pearl said. “And by playing in Neville Arena, he saw The Jungle, the incredible home court advantage that we had. Of course, when both of those guys went and were drafted in the first round, Johni knew the opportunity was wide-open at Auburn.”
“Coach Pearl checked all the boxes,” Broome said Friday.
Johni Broome (4) starred at Morehead State before transferring to play the last three seasons for Auburn. Morehead State Athletics
Since then, Broome has checked all the boxes, including the one that says he can play through injuries. Broome has injured his ankle. He has injured his shoulder. He injured his elbow in the Tigers’ win against Michigan State in the South Regional finals to reach San Antonio.
“I’ve been lucky enough not to have anything super serious,” Broome said.
So now here’s the deal: Broome is averaging 18.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game. Only Duke freshman phenom Cooper Flagg earned more national player of the year votes. To reach the ultimate goal — “We need two more wins,” Pearl said Friday — Broome’s Tigers must avenge one of their five losses this season.
Florida defeated Auburn 90-81 at Auburn on Feb. 8. Broome scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds that game. Meanwhile, Florida was led by 19 points from All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr., who just happens to be from Lake Wales, Florida, 39 miles from Plant City.
“I grew up in the same area as Walter,” Broome said Friday. “I played against him a couple of times. So it just shows how good Florida basketball is, you know, especially in our areas, those guys representing our city.”
“Arguably the best players in the country at their position,” Pearl said. “It’s hard to recognize a more complete point guard than Walter Clayton Jr. Look, he’s been the best guard on the floor almost every single night. He was when we played them in Neville Arena.”
But, said Pearl, “The one thing Johni Broome has shown in this NCAA Tournament, there is another level, there is another gear.”
Said Broome, “We’re super excited to get another crack.”
