In today's edition of Auburn Tigers News, one insider says Johni Broome leads for NPOY, and Auburn football adds a trio of assistants.
After missing two games due to an ankle injury suffered earlier this season, Johni Broome returned in full force for No. 1 Auburn basketball's win over No. 6 Tennessee in Neville Arena this past weekend.
Broome is arguably the best player in college basketball this year, and is no doubt a contender for several of the sport's biggest awards. However, Broome is in a fierce competition with Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. In such a tight race, it was a blow for Broome to miss a couple of games, but with his strong return against one of the top team's in the country, Jon Rothstein believes that the Tigers' big man is still the favorite to win National Player of the Year over Flagg.
Cooper Flagg has been ridiculous, but Johni Broome helped Auburn navigate the toughest non-conference schedule in the history of the program.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 28, 2025
And the Tigers are undefeated in the best SEC in our lifetime.
All of that matters.
As of today, Broome leads for NPOY. https://t.co/vTGWZtpfWk
It's a race that may go down to the wire, but Broome continues to make waves on the team with the best resume in college basketball.
Auburn football adds a trio of assistants
This week, the Auburn football program added a trio of assistants to their coaching staff, per Auburn Undercover. After several departures that resulted in a few familiar faces returning to the Plains, the on-field coaching staff was finalized, and now the Tigers are adding in assistant coaches.
The first is Wayne Dorsey, who is expected to assist Roc Bellantoni with the edge position. Dorsey spent the last two seasons as the defensive line coach at Charlotte.
Next is Antwaine Richardson, who will help TJ Rushing coach the safeties. The former defensive back played for Auburn defensive coordinator DJ Durkin at Maryland and finished his college career at Kent State.
Finally, the Tigers added Michael Spurlock, who is expected to help Derrick Nix coach running backs. The former NFL and Ole Miss player coached running backs at Southern Miss last season and spent time coaching wide receivers at Western Kentucky. Following a nine-year NFL career, Spurlock has coached at the high school, junior college, college, and NFL levels.