Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl was thrilled with his team's performance in an 84-68 win over Missouri to open SEC play. In particular, Pearl shouted out his leading scorer and team anchor, Johni Broome.
Broome shot 9/13 and had 24 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, two assists, and a 3-pointer Saturday. Pearl celebrated all that he can do on the floor.
"I think Johni Broome, obviously, is a load down there. And he's so unselfish. With our shooters, you're kind of darned if you do, darned if you don't. If play him one-on-one, he's going to take advantage of you. If you go down and get him, he's going to kick it out, and we're going to beat you from 3. That's kind of been a good combination," Pearl said, per 247 Sports.
Broome is destined to be an NBA first-round pick. How high he'll climb is the only question left to answer. At the end of last season, Broome was a second-round pick at best.
Pearl gave props to more than just Broome for the nine blocks his frontcourt amassed later on during the presser.
"Size matters. Size matters in jewelry, and it matters in basketball. And, uh, it matters. And our guys, Chaney, Dylan, Johni just, and look, Chad Baker, his length the length of our guards. So, they did a great job on Mitchell. I think the other guy I point out is (Anthony) Robinson. Robinson's been tearing it up, and he didn't get a bucket tonight," Pearl said.
Auburn continues to roll, but Tennessee's 76-52 demolition of Arkansas will likely keep the Volunteers in the AP Top 25 Poll's No. 1 ranking. The two teams meet at the Neville Arena on January 25.
By then, Pearl should have the all-time win record at Auburn wrapped up. He tied Joel Eaves for the record with 213 on Saturday.