2022 Transfer Big Johni Broome SIGNS WITH AU!!!

[Dual-Threat Rigby 6,496]

1 minute ago, ellitor said:

Not sure about that. Jamie Shaw said he struggled with his NBA workouts before pulling out of the draft process.

He doesn’t really affect it being an overall great year for transfers

[ellitor 25,830]

18 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

He doesn’t really affect it being an overall great year for transfers

Ummm. Your statement strongly implies his ranking on On3 is due to a great transfer year. The 2 statement go hand in hand & contradict each other.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 6,496]

14 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Ummm. Your statement strongly implies his ranking on On3 is due to a great transfer year. The 2 statement go hand in hand & contradict each other.

My statement “implies” that he isn’t ranked as high as was mentioned because it’s a great transfer year. Even if he performed better in workouts or w/e, there’s a ton of great players he’d have to hop over. That’s all I was saying 

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Auburn's Johni Broome reverses course on 2022 NBA Draft decision

Wade Peery•37 minutes

(Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The 2022 NBA Draft is a few months away and Auburn Tigers‘ basketball fans got some great news on Thursday evening. They recently landed former Morehead State star Johni Broome via the transfer portal and while he was considering staying in the 2022 NBA Draft, he changed his mind, he announced via his Twitterpage on Thursday evening. 

“After discussing with my family and reflecting over the past month, I have decided to withdraw from the draft and turn my focus to helping Auburn win a national title. I have gained invaluable experience and insight throughout this process, and now look forward to getting to work with my teammates and Auburn staff. I’d like to thank God, my family friends, teammates, coaches, and fans for your support along my journey. I’m all in and ready to get to work. WDE! –Johni Broome #4

Broome declared for the 2022 NBA Draft a little bit more than a month ago on April 1st, but he did not sign with an agent. He was one of the nation’s most coveted prospects in the transfer portal and will join 6-foot-10 center Yohan Traore to form one of the nation’s best frontcourts. Traore happens to be the third-highest rated prospect in Auburn basketball history. According to the On3 Rankingsfor the 2022 class, the 6-foot-10 power forward was rated as the No. 12 overall prospect in America and was also rated as a five-star prospect. When Broome picked the Tigers, he picked them over the Florida Gators.

[AUBwins 7,124]

Didn't realize he was still in draft when he signed. Glad he's coming back. 

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Big-man transfer Johni Broome 'absolutely belongs' at Auburn

3 hours ago

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Bruce Pearl Auburn's Basketball Tour In Israel

AUBURN, Alabama — As was the case with K.D. Johnson at Georgia in 2021, Bruce Pearl was well acquainted with one of the transfer portal’s top players, thanks to Auburn’s matchup against him.

Pearl called Morehead State transfer Johni Broome the top target on the Tigers’ board this offseason, and Auburn got to see his abilities first hand in last year’s season opener. Facing off against Walker Kessler at the center position, Broome, at 6-foot-10 and 235 pounds, was a “huge focus” of Auburn’s scouting report.

“He’s extremely skilled,” Kessler, now in the NBA with the Utah Jazz, said this week, speaking to reports about Broome before an Auburn practice. “Going into that game and just understanding how finesse he was, and how skilled of a big he was. A banger, really good touch around the rim, a lefty. 

“He’s going to do great things for Auburn.”

The lone transfer pickup for Auburn this offseason, Broome is expected to be Kessler’s immediate replacement at the 5 spot this season. He’s been on campus all summer and will take the floor with his new teammates for the first time this week during Auburn’s foreign tour in Israel. 

“The tempo is a lot faster, the game is a lot faster,” Broome told reporters Thursday before an Auburn practice. “Lot more physical. I'd say the biggest thing is just the communication level. It's a lot more talking. You have to talk each and every possession, for yourself and your teammates. And Bruce and the guys, we just create a family atmosphere. Everybody gets along. All the coaching staff is involved and energetic. They bring the energy each and every day.”

Broome, last season’s Ohio Valley Conference defensive player of the year, averaged 16.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game. He finished with 23 double-doubles on the season and shot 55.5% from the floor.

His blocks-per-game clip was No. 3 in college basketball, with Kessler, the national defensive player of the year, holding the top spot. Broome said when watching highlights of Kessler, he loved how much freedom he was able to play with on defense — and that was just one of the reasons Auburn was an attractive option to him on the transfer market.

“On the defensive end, they're allowing him to impact the game,” Broome said of Kessler. “And that's, like, why I wanted to see. He impacted the game on the defensive end, and on the offensive end, they let him space the floor and shoot the 3 — a lot of pick-and-rolls, a lot of lob opportunities. They just let him play, and it looked like he was having fun out there. So that's what I saw, and that's why I wanted to join.”

Broome chose Auburn over Florida, marking the first win for Pearl over his former assistant, Todd Golden, in the SEC. 

Last season in the Ohio Valley Conference, Broome, formerly a three-star recruit from Tampa, was routinely dominant around the basket; he ranked fourth in college basketball with 23 double-doubles on the season, and he only fell short of double-digit scoring twice all year. 

“He’s hard on himself,” Pearl said. “He would love to come out here and dominate every day in practice like he did at Morehead State and in the OVC. But he’s playing at a higher level right now. He absolutely belongs. … Will he continue to dominate inside like he did at that level? He’s working on it.

“He’s quick on his feet, so he can guard multiple positions. A big can that can switch out and guard, that’s excellent. … He has an established mid-range jumper, and he’s working to extend his 3-ball.”

Broome said, through early morning sessions, he’s already developed a strong relationship with Auburn’s experienced backcourt trio: Wendell Green Jr., K.D. Johnson and Zep Jasper. Kessler was an All-American last year because of not only his defensive abilities, but in large part due to the manner in which his guards fed him the ball on pick-and-rolls or alley oops. Broome is a different player, of course, with a more polished back-to-the-basket skill set on offense, but that same frontcourt-to-backcourt chemistry will still need to exists in 2022-23 in order for Auburn to chase an SEC championship again.

“Even if it’s 6:30 in the morning, just getting in the gym with these guys and seeing the kind of shots they can make — it gives me confidence,” Broome said of Auburn’s backcourt. 

Auburn’s first game in Israel will be against the Israel U-20 National Team on Tuesday (noon CST, SEC Network).

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