LAHAINA, Hawaii — Down John Broome went, descending the wooden bleachers inside the Lahaina Civic Center as quickly as his legs could carry him.
Anything for a better view.
By the time Broome’s feet hit the hardwood, he’d already whipped his iPhone out of his jorts pocket, to stream the entire scene on Instagram Live. With one hand holding the phone, and the other adjusting the plaid Auburn cap affixed backward atop his head, the proudest father in the entire gymnasium Wednesday gave the world a glimpse of life from the peak.
A glimpse of his middle child, Johni, at the summit of the college basketball stratosphere.
“It’s a blessing come true,” John told The Athletic with his phone trained on Johni at midcourt, seconds after No. 4 Auburn’s 90-76 win over Memphis in the Maui Invitational title game. “He’s been working hard all of his life, he’s been overlooked, and now he’s on the stage to show the world who he is — and I’m just proud of him.”
As he should be. As all of Auburn should be, especially after Broome led the Tigers to their first Maui title in program history. And “led” is doing some heavy lifting there. Broome had — deep breath — 21 points, 16 rebounds, six assists, four blocks, two 3-pointers and one steal against Memphis. His opening sequence of the game was as masterful as we’ve seen this young season. Simply, he was the best player on the floor on Wednesday … and Tuesday … and Monday … and maybe this entire season.
KenPom ranks the 6-foot-10 graduate center from Plant City, Fla., as its too-early National Player of the Year, and anything less wouldn’t feel fair. He has been that good, that dominant — and the reason why Auburn will emerge from Feast Week as arguably the best team in the entire sport.
Kansas, the current No. 1, has wins over North Carolina and Duke. Not bad, not bad.
But Auburn? Bruce Pearl’s team has three top-12 wins in its first seven games — another program first in the season’s first month — and that doesn’t even include Memphis, which entered this week unranked but will surely be in the Top 25 come Sunday’s tally.
It’s not all because of Broome — but he’s sure a big part of why.
“He’s the biggest dog,” said his mother, Julie, clutching a miniature plush tiger and an orange-and-blue pom-pom. “Everybody’s smaller than big dog.”
When Broome, a former three-star recruit, first arrived on the Plains three seasons ago after transferring in from Morehead State, he was a fine back-to-the-basket big. But he was also, in Pearl’s words, “a young 19, even though he’s a large man.” Basically? Broome needed to grow up. Needed to lock in. Even Memphis coach Penny Hardaway — whose Tigers played Pearl’s Tigers back in Broome’s first season at Auburn — remembered so.
“Probably a little distracted and thought it was going to be easier,” Hardaway said. “He got a reality check of what it was like to come up.”
And now? The player who torched his team from the opening tip? Who had nine points, four boards, three blocks, three assists and a steal in the first nine minutes Wednesday, as Auburn built an insurmountable 12-point lead?
“Now he understands the lay of the land,” Hardaway added. “He knows how serious he has to be, knows he has to be a leader — and he’s doing that now. That’s a total difference from two years ago to now with him.”
There’s no short way to summarize two-plus years of teenage maturation, but one example hits the nail on the head. When Broome first joined the program in 2022, fellow center Dylan Cardwell wasn’t the biggest fan.
“I looked at him as an opponent rather than my teammate,” Cardwell acknowledged. “I wasn’t cheering for him. I wasn’t really happy for him as I should have been.”
Early last season, when Broome had his first 30-point breakout vs. Virginia Tech — banishing Cardwell to the bench for all but nine minutes — you can imagine how the incumbent felt. But then he remembered two games prior, when Broome was parked on the bench while Cardwell went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
“The loudest person in that arena,” Cardwell said, “was Johni Broome.”
A brotherhood was born in that instant, the ramifications of which Memphis felt Wednesday. Not only did Broome carve up the Tigers, but his gravitas opened up everything else for his teammates — including Cardwell, who had a career-best 18 points and six assists and was the beneficiary of a handful of Broome’s best assists.
Look out👀 pic.twitter.com/D7antwxGzq
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) November 27, 2024
That speaks to Broome’s off-court growth. But on it? The 240-pounder has become the sort of mismatch befitting the block-lettered tattoo running the length of his right shin: NIGHTMARE ON BROOME STREET. Broome went from not even attempting a 3 his freshman year to making the first shot of the game from — you guessed it — behind the arc. He’s shooting 34.6 percent from 3 this season, after hitting 35.4 percent last season.
That hasn’t happened by accident. Julie remembers, back when Broome first committed to Morehead State, sending out a Tweet about her son: You don’t know his name now, but you will.
“I know my son,” she said, explaining her rationale. “I know the hard work and dedication he’s put in. I know his resilience. I know his integrity, his game — and he doesn’t stop. And when it comes to competition, he ain’t gonna go down. He invites it. Bring it on.”
That has been abundantly clear all week, beyond Wednesday. On Monday, Broome had the game-winning sequence against No. 5 Iowa State, in the first top-five matchup in the first round in Maui Invitational history. He stripped Cyclones guard Keshon Gilbert — a 6-foot-4 blur leading ISU with 16.8 points per game — with less than 15 seconds left and the score tied, then tipped in a missed Denver Jones layup on the other end to complete Auburn’s 18-point comeback. He then terrorized North Carolina’s timid frontcourt on Tuesday, coming within a stat correction of 20 and 20. More of the same Wednesday.
Even his first-half stat line — 15 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocks — was the stuff most big men dream of. John was waving a white towel, literally, as the buzzer went off at the break, in a sign of support for what Memphis should’ve done.
And yet, maybe because of his journey from three-star recruit to the Ohio Valley Conference, Broome isn’t someone to puff out his chest. In fact, he refused to pose for photos alone in the pandemonium of Auburn’s win, instead insisting on sharing the spotlight — like he did the rock — with his teammates.
Fitting, for someone humble enough to have LOSER tattooed vertically behind his right ear.
“Unicorn. Special. That’s not normal,” John said of his son’s unselfishness. “You don’t see that all the time.”
But even if Broome won’t take the spotlight for himself, it’s going to be hard to steer clear of it after his national breakout this week in Hawaii. He’s top-10 nationally in defensive rebounding rate and top-50 in block percentage, per KenPom, while also posting a top-150 efficiency rating, despite taking almost a third of the team’s shots when he’s on the court.
“The Player of the Year (talk) don’t really matter to me,” Broome said, from behind a square pair of glasses. “I care about winning.”
That’s fine — because at this rate, Auburn’s going to be doing plenty of that. The Tigers were picked second in the SEC in the preseason and were ranked in the top 10 nationally, but even that lofty hype feels ludicrously low in hindsight. Because even on the off chance that Broome has a bad night, good luck stopping the rest of his supporting cast.
Cardwell, normally a defensive enforcer, had his moment in the sun Wednesday, too. Chad Baker-Mazara is a 6-foot-7 Swiss Army knife, who is shooting 44.8 percent from 3 while also defending opposing centers. Jones is Pearl’s defensive dog, the guy he sticks on the opponent’s best guard. Just ask Memphis’ Tyrese Hunter — who averaged 24.5 points and six made 3s the first two games this week — how he liked the Jones treatment on Wednesday. He went scoreless in the first half and finished with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting. Tahaad Pettiford, who torched Houston’s typically ironclad defense weeks ago, is the rare five-star on Pearl’s roster, and the fact that he comes off the bench speaks to the hilarious glut of talent the Tigers have. Either Chaney Johnson or Miles Kelly are liable to go off on any night and give Pearl two more perimeter stoppers he can deploy on bigger wings.
It would be a Top-25 outfit without Broome.
With him? Well, let’s just say that four months from now, we might be talking about a sixth team that used a Maui title as a springboard to winning it all.
Back on the floor, John and Julie were asked what it feels like for their son to be arguably the best player in the country as November comes to a close. Not insulted, per se, they interrupted to amend that query, issuing a correction almost in lockstep.
“He is the best player,” John said.
“He’s a competitor, and he’s a winner,” Julie added, “and now, he’s a champion.”
Wearing a wave cap and the honorary lei given to the tournament MVP, Johni disappeared into the locker room behind his parents. Other Auburn fans flocked out of the gym, off to celebrate what could be the best team in school history. John and Julie didn’t want to miss the party, so a final question: Based on what they saw this week in Hawaii, behind their son’s superb efforts, just how good can Auburn be?
How far can these Tigers go?
“To Texas,” Julie said, already well aware this season’s Final Four is in San Antonio. Then John flashed his gold grill and popped out the No. 4 jersey he wore — Johni’s number — with both thumbs.
“We’re going all the way, baby,” he said. “We’re going for championships. Stamp it. Stamp it.”
(Photo of Johni Broome: Darryl Oumi / Getty Images)
