Auburn basketball forward Johni Broome on Karl Malone Award watch list

The transfer big man is on the award watch list for the top power forward in the nation.

Lance Dawe | Oct 27, 2022

Auburn basketball forward Johni Broome on Karl Malone Award watch list /

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Auburn Tigers

Morehead State transfer forward Johni Broome has officially been named one of 20 watch list members for the 2023 Karl Malone Award.

The award, which began in 2015, recognizes the top power forward in Division I college basketball. Broome exploded onto the scene as a freshman forward for the Morehead State Eagles in 2020 before averaging 16.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game as a sophomore in 2021. He also had 23 double-doubles last season.

Here is what we had to say about Broome in our Auburn basketball depth chart preview:

According to

Justin Ferguson

of the

Auburn Observer

, Broome ranked inside the top 15 nationally in rebounds (10.5), blocks (3.9), 2-point field goals (244), defensive win shares (2.9), defensive rating (84.1), rebound percentage (21.5%) and block percentage (13.9%).

Ferg has a

phenomenal breakdown of Broome and his impact

($) over on his website that I would highly encourage everyone to go check out.

Broome averaged 17.6 points per game during Auburn's trip to Israel. Adjusting to the speed of the SEC has been the focal point of his offseason development, and so far he's transitioned well according to Bruce Pearl.

His offensive style has been commonly described as "old school," a back to the basket type of play that features incredibly smooth footwork, hooks, short fadeaway shots, and strong finishes. Despite being a three-star coming out of high school, Broome has a lot of traits that will make him extremely valuable not just for Auburn, but with development and good coaching could make him strong at the next level.

Per Auburn's press release, fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds beginning Friday, October 28. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2022 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March the five finalists will be presented to Malone and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected.