Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl does not take Final Four appearance for granted
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl reveals he watched a lot of footage in preparation to take on Florida Gators in the Final Four.
SAN ANTONIO — Fresh off the sting of Auburn basketball’s Final Four loss to Florida, a program legend found another to provide a moment of comfort.
Johni Broome, the Tigers’ All-American who posted 15 points in a 79-73 loss to the Gators on Saturday at the Alamodome, got stopped by Charles Barkley, who clearly wanted to impart some perspective.
“He just thanked me for what I’ve done for Auburn, told me to keep my head high,” Broome said. “Coming from a guy who cemented himself in Auburn history, means a lot.”
Before the NCAA Tournament’s start, Barkley was high on Broome. Ahead of Auburn’s opening-round game against Alabama State, he said Broome would go down as “the greatest player in Auburn basketball history” if he could lead them to a national championship.
“I truly mean that,” Barkley said. “What he’s done for the program, him and coach (Bruce) Pearl and those guys, has been incredible. But if they could win a national championship, listen man, it’d be great. . … He’s better than me in college.”
While Broome didn’t cut down nets in San Antonio, he was the focal point of the program’s winningest season ever, leading the Tigers to 32 victories this year, as well as two SEC championships in two seasons — and, of course, their second Final Four appearance ever.
Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.
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