Auburn star Johni Broome returned to practice Thursday and has declared himself fit and ready to lead the Tigers in Saturday’s national semifinal against Florida.
“I’m going to be 100 percent, for sure,” he said during a Final Four media day session in San Antonio.
Broome, a 6-foot-10 senior who leads Auburn in scoring and rebounding, had not practiced since injuring his right elbow during the second half of Sunday’s Elite Eight victory against Michigan State in Atlanta.
He said the decision to hold him out of action Tuesday and Wednesday was a precautionary measure and that there were no limitations on his participation once he returned to the court. He claimed to have made all 72 shots he attempted during the workout.
“I didn’t miss a shot,” he said.
That’s good news for an Auburn team that will need its best player to be at or near full capacity to beat its SEC rival and advance to Monday’s national championship game. Even with a healthy Broome in the lineup, the Gators – who were without starting guard Alijah Martin – beat the host Tigers 90-81 in their regular-season meeting Feb. 8.
Broome is averaging 18.7 and 10.9 rebounds per game this season. He’s posted double-doubles in three of Auburn’s four NCAA Tournament games, including a 25-point, 14-rebound performance against Michigan State. His numbers might have been even bigger had he not been limited to 11 minutes in the second half.
Broome, the SEC Player of the Year, suffered injuries to his elbow and leg when he landed awkwardly while defending around the rim.
X-rays were negative and he made a dramatic return from the locker room to re-enter the game briefly. But while he made the only shot he attempted post-injury, a dagger of a three-pointer that extended the Tigers’ lead to 12 with 4:40 to go, he clearly was in pain and limited in the use of his arm.
Broome said Thursday that he spent his time away from practice doing stretching exercises and moving his arm to loosen it up as much as possible. Because he’s been assured that he’s not in danger of making the injury worse, his greatest concern likely will be pain tolerance.
And that, Broome said, isn’t a concern at all.
“It’s about being tough,” he said. “It’s like if it’s nothing serious, if it can’t be broke, if you can play, you can play. And if you can’t, you can’t.”
Even with a healthy Broome, Auburn is going to need solid performances from 6-foot-11 senior Dylan Cardwell and 6-foot-7 senior reserve Chaney Johnson – who played well in Broome’s absence and finished with eight points and six rebounds against Michigan State – against a long Florida team that is plus-12 per game in rebounds this season.
“Florida’s bigs are a little bigger and more athletic than Michigan State’s or Michigan’s bigs,” coach Bruce Pearl said of Auburn’s past two opponents. “But Johni was MVP of the South region. We rode him hard. We’re going to ride him hard again on Saturday.”
Although Broome’s effectiveness will be a question until he actually gets into game competition, that he was back on the court preparing for Saturday’ game was a welcome sight for Pearl.
“Obviously (it was) good to see him out there,” Pearl said. “The one thing Johni Broome showed in this NCAA tournament is that there’s another level, there’s another gear. Everybody keeps watching him and wondering, ‘When is he going to fizzle? When is he going to not show up?’ Again, he just managed to step up.”
