Tag: Johni Broome

Incoming transfer Johni Broome, who …

Incoming transfer Johni Broome, who signed with Auburn on April 30, announced Thursday that he is withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft pool. Broome, who spent the last two years at Morehead State, declared for the draft when he entered the transfer portal earlier this offseason and was still among its early entrants when he signed with Auburn at the end of last month.

Auburn loses out on five-star recruit to in-conference school

Bruce Pearl won’t be adding another five-star to his squad just yet.

Any hopes of the Tigers adding another five-star to its recruiting class will have to wait.

Five-star small forward Julian Phillips, who was seemingly warm on Auburn in recent weeks before his commitment on Thursday, has decided to play for the in-conference Tennessee Volunteers. Phillips is the Volunteers’ only hard commit of Tennessee’s class thus far.

Philips, like new Auburn commit Yohan Traore, was slated to go to LSU before head coach Will Wade’s departure led to him de-committing. Traore chose Auburn as his destination, but Philips decided not to follow his teammate and to head to Knoxville, Tennessee to play for the Volunteers instead.

Philips would have gone to an SEC champion either way — Auburn clinched the regular-season SEC title last year, but the Volunteers were the winners of 2022’s SEC tournament. The Tigers played Tennessee once last year for the Big 12/SEC Challenge, where they lost 67-62 in Knoxville.

The addition of Phillips could make Tennessee a stronger force to be reckoned with in the SEC, a probability that Bruce Pearl and his squad are likely not too pleased with. Nevertheless, Auburn’s 2022 recruiting class is still currently No. 16 on 247Sports’ recruiting class rankings, and the Tigers look to repeat their success from last year with Traore and new transfer [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag].

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Auburn basketball cracks top 20 in new way-too-early-ranking

Auburn was the fourth-highest SEC team in the rankings.

After a high-profile transfer and a five-star recruit, Auburn basketball is getting some noise.

The Tigers recently clocked in at No. 16 on 247Sports’ “way too early” top 25 college basketball rankings. Auburn is the fourth highest SEC school on the list behind Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennesee.

Here is what the list had to say about Auburn’s chances for next year:

“The Tigers weren’t in our initial rankings because we wanted to see the pieces Auburn added to its returning backcourt. Getting Morehead State transfer Johni Broome, one of the top big men in the portal, to add to former LSU commit Yohan Traore restocks the big-man talent pool and could make Auburn an SEC contender again. And if the backcourt, headed by KD Johnson, can consistently become what it was at times last year, look out.”

It should come as no surprise that the additions of Broome and Traore are major points here — with the departures of Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler to the NBA draft, it was imperative that Auburn picked up two playmakers to replace them in order to keep the roster strength it had this year. With Broome and Traore’s arrival, coach Bruce Pearl has managed to keep together a powerful unit that could once again contend for SEC titles.

That being said, as the ranking notes, Auburn will be facing some competition in the SEC this year. Arkansas has had a strong recruiting class and has been active in the transfer portal, Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe is coming back for another year and a Tennessee roster that retains itself this offseason could be deadly. Nevertheless, Pearl is sure to fancy his chances with the new additions to his roster.

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Florida basketball misses out on transfer PF Johni Broome to Auburn

Todd Golden couldn’t beat Bruce Pearl and Auburn for one of the top big men in the transfer portal.

It came down to Florida and Auburn for center transfer [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] on Saturday, but the Gators and [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] came up short and will now have to plan against him in the 2022-23 season.

Broome averaged 16.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game for Morehead State as a freshman in 2021-22. The Eagles finished 23-11 and Broome quickly became one of the most intriguing names in the portal after announcing his intentions to move on from the program. Some of college basketball’s best (Gonzaga, Duke, etc.) were in the hunt early on, but Broome decided that the two SEC squads presented him with the best opportunity to take the next step in his development.

Bruce Pearl’s recent success with Auburn beat out Todd Golden’s year one pitch to the Florida native. Golden previously served as an assistant coach for the Tigers, so this was the first true battle between the former mentor and protege.

It would have been nice for Florida to add some more depth to the frontcourt for Golden’s first year at the helm. [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] is set to return as the team’s starting center and has LSU transfer [autotag]Alex Fudge[/autotag], [autotag]CJ Felder[/autotag] and [autotag]Jason Jitoboh[/autotag] around him. Broome would likely have been paired with Castleton in the starting lineup, but instead, he’ll replace Walker Kessler at Auburn.

There are still some decent big men in the portal for Florida target, but this was a priority target for Golden. Now it’s time to go back to the board and figure out a different solution with three potential roster spots still open.

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Transfer target Johni Broome trims list to two, sets commitment date

It is down to two SEC schools for Johni Broome.

[autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] is one of the top transfers in college basketball and he could be the key to Auburn reloading in the frontcourt next season.

The big man is set to announce his commitment on Saturday, April 30 at 3 p.m. CT, according to On3’s Joe Tipton. The Plant City, Florida native will be deciding between Auburn and SEC rival Florida. He took official visits to both programs after entering the portal.

The 6-foot-10, 235-pound Broome played center last season at Morehead State, where he averaged 16.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.9 blocks per game. He was named the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in rebounds and blocks.

Auburn is attempting to fill the void left by the departures of Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler in the frontcourt. While five-star Yohan Traore has a great offensive game, he is still developing on the defensive side. This is where Broome could shine and help protect the rim, something Auburn will be missing without Kessler.

Broome has the potential to be more than a one-year replacement, he has three years of eligibility remaining.

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5 potential Franck Kepnang replacements the Oregon Ducks should pursue via transfer portal

The Oregon Ducks could use a fourth big man to replace Franck Kepnang. Here are five names in the NCAA transfer portal who could be good fits.

The Oregon Ducks have seen more players depart via the transfer portal this offseason than they have brought in — a trend that Dana Altman is no doubt trying to rectify over the phone this month.

The latest loss, sophomore center Franck Kepnang, is a big one, not just in stature but in role. Kepnang may have only averaged 14.5 minutes per game last season, but he was a vital piece to the team on both offense and defense, and losing him leaves a big hole around the rim.

N’Faly Dante, Nate Bittle and five-star prospect Kel’el Ware is definitely an excellent trio of frontcourt stars, but this team is lacking a fourth big who can protect the rim, snare some rebounds and bring some energy and bravado to the second unit.

While no one can quite replace the unique personality Kepnang brings, there are more than a handful of standout big men in the transfer portal for Altman to reach out to.

Here are five who could fill a role similar to Kepnang’s — and a few would exceed it — should Altman find a way to work his magic and bring them to Eugene: