AUBURN | Those unforgettable moments.
That’s what we take with us in our sporting lives. We remember them, we talk about them over and over with our families and friends. Sometimes, we even argue about them on message boards.
They’re not as significant as your wedding or the birth of a child, of course, but they’re not too far behind either.
Auburn had one of those moments Sunday night in Atlanta that won’t be soon forgotten.
And like many, it started with a moment of extreme anxiety.
Johni Broome was injured and went to the locker room with 10:24 left in the game. AU held its own during his absence, leading by 10 when he left and nine when he returned five minutes later.
And just 34 seconds after his return, Broome pulled down a one-handed rebound after a Michigan State miss, and 23 seconds after that, the moment came.
Broome and Miles Kelly exchanged passes on the right wing before Miles made a behind-the-back pass to Broome and he knocked down a 3-pointer that put the Tigers up 60-48 with 4:40.
AU allowed it to get closer then it should have with six missed free throws and two turnovers in the final four minutes, but eventually came away with a 70-64 win and a berth in the Final Four.
And it was Broome’s return and big shot that will be the defining moment of the victory and this run to the Final Four.
The reaction from his teammates ranged from incredulous to just another day in the gym.
“The biggest balls in balls history,” said Dylan Cardwell. “He’s probably got blue balls. He needs a 30 for 30 on that shot alone.”
“I know Johni's a dog, and he's going to come back in the game, especially this calibre of game … For him to come back in and hit that shot, it meant a lot,” said Miles Kelly.
“That's just a testament to his greatness,” said Denver Jones.
When it comes to Broome, he didn’t wax poetic about his comeback shot after the game, but he did continue a theme this team has carried with it all season. A theme it’s called on all the way to the Final Four.
“All glory to God,” said Broome. “When I came back out, when I hit that 3-ball, I called on him again. You got to always call on him. He's always going to deliver.”
It’s Broome, of course, that delivered for Auburn Sunday night with 25 points and 14 rebounds, perhaps with a little help from a higher power.
But Sunday night was also a culmination of years of hard work and dedication to his craft in the gym. He became a standout at player at Morehead State after being a lightly recruited player out of Tampa Catholic.
And Broome has taken a step forward and gotten better in each of his three years at Auburn. The Broome we saw on the court against the Spartans doesn’t exist without a tremendous will to achieve and a lot of sweat and sacrifice on the hardwood.
That’s why it came as no surprise that shortly after Auburn punched its ticket for the Final Four and Broome cut down the nets, he posted a simple message on social media referring to Kobe Bryant’s quote from the 2009 NBA Finals.
“Job’s not finished.”
Broome understands the assignment. The Tigers' win in Atlanta wasn’t a crowning achievement for Broome. It was just the next step in his journey.
There are no guarantees in this sporting life when it comes to outcomes. The Final Four is full of great teams and great players on their own paths to success.
But I’m not sure if there’s a player on any of those other teams as determined as Broome. And if Auburn has the opportunity to have one or perhaps two more shining moments in San Antonio, you better believe Broome is ready, willing and more than capable of making it happen.
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In today’s musical journey, we go back 67 years to the release of one of the foundational songs of rock & roll, which was named after the Father of Rock & Roll’s piano player and the street he grew up on. On March 31, 1958, Chuck Berry released “Johnny B. Goode,” which was inspired by his piano player, Johnnie Johnson, and his childhood home on 2520 Goode Avenue in St. Louis, Mo. The song was written by Berry and is mostly autobiographical although he had to change the lyric that referred to Johnny as a “colored boy” to a “country boy” in order to get it on radio. Johnson played on many of Berry’s singles, but it was another pianist, Lafayette Leake, that played on “Johnny B. Goode.” It’s considered the first rock & roll song about being a rock & roll star. It’s ranked 33rd by Rolling Stone on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. “Johnny B. Goode” is one of 27 songs on a golden record that was included on the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes, which launched in 1977 and are currently in the outer reaches of the solar system.
Charles Edward Anderson Berry was born in 1926 and grew up in a neighborhood in north St. Louis knows as the Ville. His father was a contractor and mother a school principal. He started performing in the early 1940’s as a student at Sumner High School. He was sent to a reform school in 1944, however, after he was convicted of armed robbery and was kept there until his 21st birthday. Berry began playing the blues in clubs around St. Louis during the 1950’s before signing with Chess Records in 1955. His first single, 1955’s “Maybellene,” was an instant hit, and he had two more classics the following year in “Roll Over Beethoven” and “Run Rudolph Run,” and another with 1957’s “Rock and Roll Music.” Berry continued to have hit singles during the next decade including 1964’s “No Particular Place to Go,” and 1965’s “Nadine.” His only No. 1 on the Billboard 100 was 1972’s “My Ding-A-Ling.” Berry released 20 albums during his 62-year career with the last one coming out just after his death in 2017. He is ranked by Rolling Stone as the fifth-greatest artist of all time and the second-best guitarist of all time. Berry was part of the first-ever group to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
