How Auburn basketball's rotation would work with Johni Broome
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Morehead State big man transfer Johni Broome recently added Auburn to his final eight schools which includes big name basketball schools like Gonzaga and Kentucky. This news picked up a prediction from recruiting insider Caleb Benson that he will land at Auburn. Broome is an athletic center and plays the position much like Walker Kessler from a defensive standpoint. Broome was the Ohio Valley Conference’s defensive player of the year as well as named to the first team all OVC.
Broome could be the perfect replacement for Kessler since they are both amazing rim protectors. One x-factor to Broome’s game is his effortless ball handling and driving to the basket. Broome is a confident post player on the offensive side of the ball and has a variety of effective post moves that helped him average almost 17 points per outing last season.
It will be interesting to see the way Coach Bruce Pearl mixes and matches the different lineups with all the talent Auburn has at the four and five positions.
Assuming Broome chooses Auburn, he will take Kessler’s role from last season and play around the same minutes per game. I foresee Dylan Cardwell taking on the same role as last year at the back up five. This being a role that Cardwell, a fan favorite around campus, thrived in last year. Also one to watch is how Coach Pearl uses five-star Auburn commit Yohan Traore if Broome chooses Auburn. Traore is listed as a power forward on some recruiting platforms and a center on others. This leads me to believe that he is a versatile player and will be impressive whether he is playing the four or the five.
The person on Auburn’s current roster who could take a hit would be forward Jaylin Williams. Coach Pearl told reporters after Auburn’s tournament loss that Williams would be a focal point of this basketball team going forward. That statement could change now that Traore has committed and there is potential that Broome could be playing for Auburn too. The way Williams shot the ball down the stretch leads me to believe he could play the three, but it is going to take improvement on his ball handling and driving to the basket.
I predict Traore to start at the four and Broome to start at the five assuming he commits to Auburn in the coming days. That would leave Cardwell to mix in and out at the five and Williams to rotate in at the four.
If you are not already excited about Broome his statistics at Morehead State should get you there. He averaged 16.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.9 blocks, and 1.2 assists per game last year. He had the 33 rd best field goal percentage in the nation at 55.5.
All in all, if Broome choses Auburn they will once again have one of the best frontcourts in all of college basketball. Broome has not yet set a commitment date, but the day is fast-approaching, and Auburn fans should be waiting with open arms to hopefully welcome a new standout basketball player to the plains.
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