AUBURN — Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl has a process at the end of each season.
Pearl likes to sit down with his players, talk to them about their options and chart the best paths forward, both for their personal career and for the future of the team.
With someone like senior guard KD Johnson, Pearl admitted his role wouldn’t be large if he remained at Auburn for his fifth and final year of eligibility next season. As a result, Johnson decided to enter the transfer portal and eventually commit to George Mason.
When speaking with All-American center Johni Broome, Pearl outlined three paths: a return to the Plains, entry into the portal or a declaration for the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft.
Broome assured Pearl that one of those choices was not being considered.
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“He said, ‘Coach, the transfer portal is not an option for me. So there are really only two options.’ (And) the NBA option was not an option he wanted to explore right now,” Pearl said of Broome on Monday. “…As far as being in the transfer portal, that just wasn’t an option for him or his family. They just wanted to be treated fairly, and I think the collective (NIL) treated him fairly. We are very happy to have him back.”
Broome’s production didn’t necessarily explode from Year 1 to Year 2 at Auburn — his points and rebounds per game increased by 2.3 and 0.1, respectively — but the way he achieved that production was impressive. He was efficient, playing 24.8 minutes per game, and expanded his game to become a real threat from beyond the 3-point arc.
Originally arriving at Auburn in April 2022 as a return-to-the-basket big man who played with some finesse in the post, Broome shot 35.4% on 2.3 triple attempts per game last season. Against SEC competition, Broome made 39.2% of his long-range shots.
But according to Pearl, this improvement in play hasn’t changed his draft stock much. Even in what many call a weak draft class, Broome’s stature and the traditional way he plays make his path to the modern NBA difficult.
That doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Broome declared for the draft last offseason and parlayed a standout performance at the G League Elite Camp into an invite to the 2023 NBA Combine. In two scrimmages at the Combine last year, Broome dropped 26 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks before opting out of the process and returning to college.
“He probably knew what it would be like, even in a non-strong draft,” Pearl said of Broome potentially trying to turn pro this time around. “He was probably looking at a second-round situation, a two-way contract. Whatever it was… The NBA option was not an option he wanted to explore right now. … Players like Johni will have to come in on a team and making the roster, rather than being drafted and thinking about what that potential is, I think Johni and his agent and his team really realized that.
With standouts like Purdue’s Zach Edey and UConn’s Donovan Clingan heading to the NBA, the Tigers have arguably the best big man in the country in Broome, who is one of two consensus All-Americans in Auburn men’s basketball history, along with Jabari Smith in 2022.
“Johni Broome wanted to come back,” Pearl said. “His family wanted him to come back.”
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached by email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared in the Montgomery Advertiser: Johni Broome: Why the transfer portal wasn’t an option for Auburn’s big star
