This is an opinion column.
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Auburn’s Johni Broome is the presumptive national player of the year.
If he doesn’t win it, then it would be a crime against the old school, the new school, the alternative school and all things holy about the game of basketball.
Broome is Auburn’s team leader, Captain America and double-double machine. In Auburn’s 62-57 win against Ole Miss on Friday, he led the Tigers with 23 points and 15 rebounds. He’s now tied with Mike Mitchell for Auburn’s all-time record for double-doubles in a season (18).
More than likely, Broome will break that school record on Saturday when Auburn plays in the semifinals of the SEC tournament here in Nashville.
Auburn leaned on Broome in crunch time against Ole Miss, and he delivered with his unstoppable spin move with 11 seconds to play.
I was going to write an entire column about Broome’s spin move to begin Auburn’s postseason, but then something that coach Bruce Pearl said after the game made me appreciate Broome on an even deeper level.
One obvious thing sticks out about Broome’s skill set, and everyone he plays knows it. He’s not exactly blessed with the greatest standing vertical. He’s got no hops. The best player in the country can’t jump.
Those aren’t my words.
That’s the scouting report on Broome and Pearl doesn’t shy away from pointing it out either. When I asked Pearl about Broome’s spin moves, Auburn’s coach pointed out that his big man beats teams with his footwork instead of his vertical.
That’s not a bad thing. Pearl called it old school, but old school never goes out of style. Just look at the NBA. The best player in the world is Denver’s Nikola Jokić, and he can’t jump either.
Jokić’s standing vertical is notoriously low. It’s only 17 inches. It’s one of the lowest recorded verticals in the history of the NBA. Despite that limitation, Jokić is an unstoppable force. This season, at the college level, Broome has been the Nikola Jokić of the SEC.
Basketball is a game for the tall, and jumping helps, but things like technique and positioning are more important.
“He’s got old-school footwork and he’s got great feet,” Pearl said of Broome. “The play where he saved the ball before it went out of bounds is a play that only a great athlete can play. But because he can’t jump, people don’t think he’s a very good athlete. And it has nothing to do with athleticism.
“Because of his athleticism, he’s got such a good base, and he’s able to put you on his hip and spin off of you.
“Now, everyone knows he’s a right shoulder, left-hand cover, but if you overdo it too much he can go the other way. The other thing he’s really good at is he’s an excellent passer. Not only when he’s in the post, but when he’s on the perimeter.”
Broome will have the opportunity to show off his passing skills on other days. Against Ole Miss, he was asked to take over the game with his inside presence and that’s what he did.
Auburn began the first half shooting poorly from the perimeter. Ole Miss is known for its defense and the Rebel Land Shark Black Bears had an excellent plan. For the game, Ole Miss limited Auburn to 13 assists while forcing 15 turnovers. Any other team probably would have lost a game with those numbers.
But Ole Miss couldn’t stop Broome. Auburn started going inside to its big man and the game opened up.
Broome’s spin move into a dunk set the tone for the game with 10:07 left in the first half. The basket gave Auburn a 13-11 and came amid a decisive 16-5 run. Broome started off the offensive burst with seven of Auburn’s nine points.
It was an ugly game for the Tigers, but Auburn proved its defense is ready for March Madness. And when the Tigers absolutely had to have points, they went to the sure thing. They went to Broome in the post.
Auburn led by 10 points with two minutes to play, but Ole Miss cut that lead to 60-57 with 38.2 second left.
Would Ole Miss get a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime? Nope.
Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara got the ball inside to Broome on Auburn’s most important possession of the game, and Broome went to work.
Last week against Alabama, Broome was in a similar situation but went with his fadeaway. He missed and Auburn lost the game. Not this time. Broome started the postseason with the same authoritative message that won the SEC regular-season title.
“I know I was going to the basket regardless,” Broome said. “Against the University of Alabama I faded away with the last bucket, so I told my teammates that wouldn’t happen again and I would take a better shot. They gave it to me again and trusted me again so I knew I just had to finish for them this time.”
Ole Miss knew what was coming, and Ole Miss had no chance. Broome set his feet, pivoted to the basket and didn’t even have to jump.
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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”
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