Auburn forward [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] is coming off an incredible 2023-2024 season in which he led the Tigers in most statistical categories on both ends of the floor.
Although Broome’s 16.5-point, 8.5-rebound per game season ended in heartbreak, the 22-year-old is set to return to the Plains to slay the “March Madness Demons” his Tigers have run into the past few seasons.
There is no question the Plant City, Florida native is Auburn’s best player heading into this season, but a few coaches in the country also believe he is the nation’s best college basketball athlete as well. In a recent anonymous coaches poll conducted by CBS Sports, insiders Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander asked 100-plus college basketball coaches who the best player in the country was.
Auburn’s best scorer and rim protector did not end up in the top four vote-getters, but he was one of only six players to receive multiple votes in the poll. Broome trailed incoming Duke freshman Cooper Flag (36%), Alabama‘s Mark Sears (22%), Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson (16%), and North Carolina guard RJ Davis (15%) on the list. Broome joined Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner as the only other player to receive multiple votes in the poll.
Whole Broome certainly would have enjoyed seeing himself listed slightly higher, the recognition as one of the best players in the country should feel great for a player who started his collegiate career at Morehead State. The 6-foot-10 forward has improved his game every season, and it would be no surprise to see him finish among the top vote-getters in many postseason awards in 2024-2025.
The Tigers will open up the season in early November. Broome and his teammates will have the chance to shut down the No. 1 vote-getter on this list, Cooper Flag, when they travel to Durham, NC to take on Duke in the ACC/SEC Challenge on December 4.
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