Auburn HC Bruce Pearl makes his pitch for National Player of the Year
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl is casting his vote. And sure, he may be a bit biased, but there’s absolutely a world in which senior forward Johni Broome is named the best player in college basketball.
After all, Auburn is ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 and No. 1 in the loaded SEC hoops conference, and Broome is the Tigers’ best player.
That’s at least how Pearl sees it, as he explained on “The Gary Parrish Show” on Monday. There are a ton of great players out there, but Broome is deserving because of what he’s done for Auburn, per Pearl.
“The difference in that race, I think right now, is simply the body of his work. If we have 14 Quad 1 wins? He’s a huge part of what that’s all about. He’s our leading rebounder, he’s our leading scorer, he’s our leader in blocked shots, and he leads us in assists as a power forward. That just tells you what an incredibly valuable player he is,” Pearl said (h/t On3).
The big thing for both Auburn and Broome is being able to finish the regular season strong. The Tigers have won four in a row and 18 of their last 19, but they’ve got a tough stretch coming up. They finish the season at No. 17 Kentucky, at No. 12 Texas A&M and against No. 6 Alabama.
“You know, in my mind, in my (running), if we continue to win and close this thing out, he is the player of the year in college basketball,” Pearl said.
Now let’s see if Broome and the Tigers can do it. Broome is averaging 18.6 points, 11.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game for Auburn this season.
