Auburn star Johni Broome, who leads the league in rebounding and ranks third in scoring, is The Associated Press Southeastern Conference player of the year.
With Broome leading the way, the second-ranked Tigers (27-4, 15-3 SEC) earned the top seed in this week’s league tournament in Nashville, Tennessee. The Tigers appear to be a lock for a No. 1 seed in next week’s NCAA Tournament.
Auburn’s success also landed Bruce Pearl coach of the year honors in voting released Tuesday. Pearl beat out Missouri’s Dennis Gates, Vanderbilt’s Mark Byington and Florida’s Todd Golden in ballots cast by 16 reporters who cover the SEC.
Pearl received eight of 16 votes. Broome received 15 of 16 votes for player of the year; Alabama’s Mark Sears got the other. Broome was the only unanimous choice on the first team, more evidence of how deep the SEC has become with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma.
The 6-foot-10 senior forward from Plant City, Florida, tops the SEC in blocked shots and ranks fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio — a rare feat for a post player in a guard-dominated era of college basketball.
The crafty left-hander is the fourth player in Division I history to record 2,500 career points and 1,500 career rebounds, joining Houston’s Elvin Hayes (1965-68), Seattle’s Elgin Baylor (1954-58) and Wake Forest’s Dickie Hemric (1951-55).
Broome is averaging 18.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.5 blocks a game. He has just 38 turnovers in 29 games.
Texas guard Tre Johnson, widely considered an NBA lottery pick in June, is the AP’s SEC newcomer of the year. The 6-foot-6 freshman from the Dallas area leads the league in scoring, averaging 20.2 points.
Johnson handily beat Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier, a graduate transfer from North Florida, Oklahoma freshman guard Jeremiah Fears and Georgia freshman forward Asa Newell in newcomer voting.
First team
Guard — Walter Clayton Jr., Florida, Sr., 6-2, 195, Lake Wales, Florida.
Guard — Tre Johnson, Texas, Fr., 6-6, 190, Glendale, Texas.
Guard — Chaz Lanier, Tennessee, 5th year, 6-5, 207, Nashville, Tennessee.
Guard — Mark Sears, Alabama, 5th year, 6-1, 190, Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Forward — Johni Broome, Auburn, Sr., 6-10, 240, Plant City, Florida.
Second team
Guard — Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State, So., 5-11, 190, Madison, Mississippi.
Guard — Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M, graduate, 6-0, 180, Dallas.
Guard — Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee, Sr., 5-9, 172, Long Island, New York.
Forward — Mark Mitchell, Missouri, Jr., 6-9, 230, Kansas City, Kansas.
Forward — Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina, So., 6-8, 245, Columbia, South Carolina.
Individual honors
Player of the year — Johni Broome, Auburn.
Coach of the year — Bruce Pearl, Auburn.
Newcomer of the year — Tre Johnson, Texas.
Voting panel
Kirk Bohls, Houston Chronicle; Rick Bozich, WDRB-TV; Travis Brown, Bryan-College Station Eagle; Michael Casagrande, AL.com; David Cloninger, The Post and Courier; Mike Griffith, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Brian Holland, Louisiana First News; Matt Jones, Arkansas Democrat Gazette; Michael Katz, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal; Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star; David Paschall, Chattanooga Times Free Press; Henry Patton, Opelika-Auburn News; Benjamin Rosenberg, The Commercial Dispatch; Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel; Lauren Walsh, WSMV-TV; Mason Young, Tulsa World.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll
Mark Long, The Associated Press
