BIRMINGHAM — Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl got some exciting news this offseason when his All-American center decided to come back for one more year on the Plains, partly due to some unfinished business after last year’s loss to Yale in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Returning to Auburn for his third year with Pearl, Broome holds the honors as one of the best returning players in the country after receiving an All-SEC first Team bid following a dominant campaign a season ago in which he averaged 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. He also received 2024 All-SEC First Team honors, 2024 SEC All-Defensive Team, 2024 SEC All-Tournament Team and 2024 SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors, as well as being a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
“Coming from where I came from, it means a lot to me, just recognition-wise,” Broome said. “But, you know, I don’t really feed into the SEC First Team or nationally ranked players and stuff like that, because any day I have to go out and perform. So, I don’t really feed too much into it. But it's definitely good to see, but at the end of the day, we’ve still got to go out there and put a jersey on and win ball games.”
Opting to come back for what will be his final stint in orange and blue, Broome could have chosen to move on to professional basketball after receiving high praise while testing the draft waters this offseason.
“He had an opportunity to probably go somewhere in the second round, in the late second round, and be involved in a two-way contract and fight his way up to the big clubs on so forth,” Pearl said.
It’s no stretch to say that Broome has been one of the more physically imposing big men on the low block throughout his time at Auburn, but in today's day in age of high-flying, up-tempo basketball, a low post presence isn’t the only thing you can have in your arsenal for hopes at a spot in the big leagues.
With that, Broome has returned with a goal of improving his three-point shot - something he picked up on last year, shooting 35.4% from deep - and is also bouncing around from the four and five spots, showing off his athleticism to hang in a league full of rim-runners.
“My three-point shot, shooting a better percentage. My free throw percentage, you know, and then just being able to show my athleticism a little bit more - getting more athletic on the defensive side,” Broome said on what he’s focused on throughout the offseason.
And there’s still one thought lingering in the mind of Broome and his teammates, and that’s unfinished business. After last year's shocking loss to Yale in the first round of the tournament, it left a bit of a sour taste in the mouth of Broome, and one he doesn’t want to taste again.
“We have it on our board, 78-76,” Broome said. “So, we look at it all the time until the season comes up. But everybody knows there’s still a sour taste in our mouth, so we’re ready to prove otherwise.”
What’s Broome’s message to Auburn fans hoping for another successful year on the hardwood?
“Every night we’re going to bring it,” Broome declared. "We’re still hungry. We’re not satisfied with what we did last year. It’s a new year, so we’re still coming.”
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