Johni Broome or Cooper Flagg? Who Deserves the John Wooden Award?
As we approach the final stretch of the college basketball season, two players have emerged as the run-away favorites for this year’s John Wooden Award. The current favorite is Duke’s All-American freshman guard Cooper Flagg. The 6’9 forward from Newport, Maine has dazzled the basketball world with an impressive two-way ability and rebounding tenacity. The other candidate is fifth-year senior Johni Broome for Auburn. This veteran has pulled away as hands-down the best player in the SEC, leading his team in points, 18.6, and to a remarkable 25-2 record for the season. The winner of the Best College Basketball Player Award remains firmly contested by solely these two players.
Cooper Flagg
It’s always difficult for the number one high school prospect in the country to live up to such hyped-up expectations. When Duke secured Cooper Flagg from Nokomis High School this past October, excitement was sky-high in Durham, North Carolina. 16 months later, and fans have gotten everything they could have hoped for and more. Flagg is third in all of the ACC with an outstanding 19.5 points per game, while also boasting a 7.7 rebound stat line per game, which ranks near the top of the conference at seventh. He is doing this all, leading Duke to a conference-best record of 24-3, and a likely one-seed in the upcoming March Madness Tournament, all as a freshman. His size, strength, and ability to shoot the ball, drive it, and play defense makes him an NBA-ready player at just 18 years old.
Johni Broome
Johni Broome is one of just eleven players in the country who averages a double-double. Between his SEC-leading 11.1 rebounds per game, and third in the conference with 18.6 points per game, Broome has dominated the painted area at will. Broome combines rare quickness with size at 6’10, allowing him to move defenders’ feet and get to the rim. It’s his defensive ability, however, that really makes him stand out above the rest. His 2.6 blocks per game also leads the SEC and is one of the highest averages in all of Division One basketball.
Who Should Win?
For me, it comes down to the year each of these players’ respective conferences are having. The SEC is undoubtedly having the best year in its history for basketball. Between Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and Missouri, this conference has been the premier competition of all of college basketball this year. The ACC, meanwhile, really is having a down year. North Carolina is not playing nearly to the level we are used to seeing, and just three teams overall in the conference are ranked, one of the fewest amounts in the last 20 years. That difference in level of competition is the difference for me between separating Cooper Flagg and Johni Broome’s seasons. Broome is crushing opponents who are at the top of college basketball, and that gives him the edge in my book.
