First-Round Hopeful Johni Broome Stars For Auburn in Loss to Tennessee
© Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
Though he didn't begin his career at Auburn, Johni Broome has certainly created his legacy playing there, and in the process, put himself in prime position to be a first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
He is, after all, having an all-SEC type of year – and with the SEC being as competitive as it is in 2023-24, that is an impressive accolade.
He stood just 6-foot-8 and weighed only 200 pounds his senior year of high school at Tampa Catholic (FL), and had just three Division I offers: Morehead State, Bryant, and Jacksonville.
Electing to play for coach Preston Sadlin at Morehead State of the Ohio Valley Conference, Broome really broke onto the mid-major scene as a freshman when he, in just his third game as a college player, turned in a 25-point, 12-rebound, five-block masterpiece against the Sun Belt’s Arkansas State.
From that point on, people began to pay attention to Johni Broome, and by the time his second freshman season ended (COVID year, in case that was confusing), he transferred to play in the SEC for Bruce Pearl's Auburn Tigers.
Since his arrival, he has anchored an Auburn defense that has been stellar. Illustrative of that is the fact that right now, Auburn shares the same defensive efficiency rating as the UConn Huskies and their elite paint stopper Donovan Clingan.
Being tied with this year's Connecticut team in any defensive metric is a good sign (for clarity, they rank 15th in the nation with 0.941 def. efficiency rating).
He's more than just a big that can protect the rim, though – he's a skilled scorer around the paint as well a guy that's evolved his game and extended his range quite a bit.
His first two years, he attempted a total of five threes and hit none of them. His third year of college and his first at Auburn, he took 31 attempts, about one per game, and hit nine total of them (29%).
But this year, he is a legitimate threat to step out of the post and knock down a shot from deep. Having taken twice as many attempts from deep as last year, Broome has hit 23 of his 62 attempts, good for a really impressive 37%.
That's NBA-level efficiency for a big, especially one whose deep shot is a feature. not a core piece, of his overall game.
© Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
Against Tennessee on Feb. 28, he was fantastic. He put up 23 points, snagged nine boards, dished five dimes, notched two steals, and blocked a shot, and though the performance didn't drive Auburn to victory, it did show off what he's able to do on both ends of the floor.
One of the things to like about Broome besides the size (6-foot-10, 235 pounds), defense, and rebounding is the IQ. He avoids bad attempts or shots with low percentages, and is also an excellent, excellent passer for a big man.
The five assists he had against the Vols account for his second-highest total of the season in that category, as he had seven against Ole Miss. Diming like that against a legitimate team like Tennessee is a really excellent indication that the passing could scale up and translate to the next level.
His versatility really makes him a high-floor guy compared to the rest of a class full of projects, someone that can contribute early on a good team.
His draft range is, at the moment, around picks 25-35, but if Auburn makes a run in the conference and national tournaments, Broome can only improve his stock.
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