MONTGOMERY | Bruce Pearl always knew that it was likely he'd have to replace Jabari Smith after one season at Auburn. He didn't know, however, if he'd have to replace Walker Kessler. But a quick rise in play and a National Defensive Player of the Year season meant Pearl needed to reload the frontcourt with two new additions.
First came Yohan Traore, a player Auburn was familiar with prior to him committing to LSU. Once Will Wade was fired Pearl and Auburn's staff "immediately" reached out to Traore to reconnect and were eventually able to land him.
But there was still one more hole in the frontcourt to fill. And that's where Morehead State transfer Johni Broome comes into the picture. Auburn was familiar with Broome, too, playing against him in the first game of the 2021-'22 season. Pearl and co. identified Broome as a top target and zeroed in on him, eventually making his final group of schools, being Auburn and former Auburn assistant Todd Golden at Florida.
Pearl didn't learn about Broome's decision until two minutes before the public on Saturday at 3 p.m.
"So on Saturday at 2:58 when he calls me and says, ‘Coach, this is Johni’ — and I can’t hear anyways so I’ve got to turn it on speaker — ‘I’ve made my decision," Pearl said before Auburn's AMBUSH event in Montgomery. "'I’m coming to play for you at Auburn.’ And I didn’t hear that, I think he told me something and I went ‘yeah!’ He could’ve said Florida but I didn’t hear it."
As Broome worked his way through a decision and took visits, Pearl saw some of his other top transfer targets come and go off the board. But after meeting Broome and his family, he knew exactly who he wanted.
"The more I recruited him, the more I liked him," Pearl said. "The more I liked him a lot. Not just as a player, but as a kid. And then I got to know the family and I really liked the family a lot, too. And then it becomes personal, you know?"
While Florida held the advantage of being close to home, Colin Castleton opting to return was something that made the fit at Florida difficult for Broome and Pearl used that to his advantage. Though he says that's the only negative he used in the recruiting process against Golden.
"I didn’t enjoy that aspect of it," Pearl said about going head to head with Golden. "I told Johni and I told the family, quite frankly that, the biggest issue is with (Colin) Castleton at Florida, coming back for his fifth year or whatever it was… That was the only negative recruiting aspect that we did. That’s the only thing, that sort of stated fact.
"Otherwise, man, you should want to play for Florida and Todd Golden. You should want to go home. Going home was a big factor for him."
But Auburn is obviously where Broome landed, and now Pearl is excited to get him on campus and work him into the frontcourt.
Unlike Kessler and previous Auburn bigs, Broome provides a strong back to the basket game that Pearl plans to utilize this season.
"He can really score with his back to the basket," Pearl said. "And we didn’t have anybody that really could score with their back to the basket this year. And so we’re going to have a little bit more of a low post threat. And I actually think he projects to the perimeter. I think he can catch it and rip it, I think he can play make a little bit.
"I think he can guard multiple positions, Yohan can too. So I think I’ve got two really good mobile five-men. And I’ve got guys like Jaylin Williams and Dylan Cardwell that are going to compete for the position, and Stretch."
Along with his offensive skillset, Broome was third in the nation in blocks last year, averaging 3.9 blocks per game.
Auburn has one more scholarship spot remaining for next year, with 5-star SF Julian Phillips the main target remaining. While Phillips is obviously a very high priority target, Pearl can rest comfortably knowing his frontline is restocked for another championship run next year.
"I’m so pleased and I’m so relieved," Pearl said. "... I’m very, very happy with my frontline."
