HOW DO YOU SAY ‘JOHNI BROOME’? Backstory, pronunciation guide for Auburn basketball’s All-American
Broome, who injured his ankle in the Tigers’ road win against South Carolina, was sidelined for Auburn’s latest win, over No. 15 Mississippi State, and coach Bruce Pearl said that Broome will not practice Thursday, though he did not offer an update on Broome’s timeline for return.
The Tigers play No. 23 Georgia next, at noon CST Saturday in Athens.
“We’ll have to continue to play really, really well being down a man. A big man,” Pearl said Thursday, later adding: “We are down one of the most dynamic offensive players in college basketball; an old-school center that can score with his back to the basket one-on-one. If you double him, he can pass it to anybody, and he does a great job of getting to the foul line. He’s unselfish. We don’t have that. We have to find other ways to score.”
Without Broome, the Tigers showed no struggle in an 88-66 victory over a top-15 team. The focal point of the offense took a new form in Chad Baker-Mazara, who dropped a season-high 20 points while Chaney Johnson, Denver Jones, Miles Kelly and Tahaad Pettiford combined for another 55 points.
In 15 games this season, Broome’s been a contender for National Player of the Year. Although he’s missed a game, he still leads Auburn in points (17.9), rebounds (10.2), assists (3.3) and blocks (2.7).
This isn’t the first injury Broome has faced this season. He suffered a shoulder injury against Georgia State. While the injury looked to be significant, he returned for Auburn’s next game, against then-No. 16 Purdue and hadn’t missed a game since.
How did Auburn basketball’s Johni Broome injure his ankle?
Broome left the South Carolina game at the 13:45 mark of the second half after appearing to roll his left ankle while going for a rebound, with the help from two team trainers and putting no weight on his left foot. A program spokesperson later told the Montgomery Advertiser he wouldn’t return for the contest.
In 24 minutes against the Gamecocks, Broome scored just six points on 3-of-11 shooting. He grabbed three rebounds while recording two blocks, an assist and a steal.
Who replaces Johni Broome in Auburn basketball’s lineup?
Without Broome, the Tigers found a new leading scorer in Baker-Mazara and the second 20-point game of his Auburn career. However, Pearl said what Auburn did against Mississippi State wouldn’t necessarily be the same game plan against Georgia.
Auburn’s next man up at Broome’s spot in the starting lineup is Chaney Johnson, who started against Mississippi State and dropped 17 points. He’s averaging 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, playing in all 17 of Auburn’s contests to this point.
Without Broome by his side, starting center Dylan Cardwell scored 9 points and tallied 5 rebounds against the Bulldogs. Reserve forward Ja’Heim “Turtle” Hudson, who has averaged 6.5 minutes this season, was on the floor for just four minutes against Mississippi State.
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