Charles Barkley signed off CBS’ broadcast of Florida’s 65-63 win over Houston for the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four national championship with a declaration.
“I want to give my love to (coach) Bruce Pearl and my Auburn Tigers,” Barkley said.
“I want to say Johni Broome is the greatest basketball player in Auburn history, and I can’t wait to go down there and retire his jersey. He’s been great for the school. He’s the best player in Auburn history … He’s taken the throne, man.”
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The basketball analyst added Broome is better than he and Chuck Person were.
Barkley’s comments took his opinion of Broome from earlier in the NCAA Tournament to another level.
“If he can finish the journey, I would say he’s the greatest player in Auburn basketball history,” Barkley said two weeks ago. “I truly mean that. What he’s done for the program, him and Coach (Bruce) Pearl and those guys, has been incredible. But if they could win the national championship, it’d be great.”
While the Tigers advanced to the Final Four, they fell to eventual champs Florida 79-73.
Walter Clayton Jr. scored 34 points. Auburn (32-6) was the top overall seed.
Chad Baker-Mazara, with his left hand partially wrapped because of a thumb issue, led Auburn with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Broome finished with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting and had seven rebounds — he had only three points after halftime in the Tigers’ second loss to Florida this season.
Broome was hunched over even before the final buzzer, and then was surrounded by cameras to capture his reaction. He eventually stood up to shake hands, then walked off the court with his eyes red from crying — pulling up his jersey to wipe his face as cameras continued to follow his exit.
Chad Baker-Mazara and Broome both were injured in the win over Michigan State last Sunday that sent the Tigers to the Final Four. Broome’s right elbow bent awkwardly during a hard fall in the second half, and in the Final Four he wore some kind of brace on his arm covered by a sleeve.
On Monday night, Barkley also took a moment to thank the Final Four participants.
“I want to congratulate, obviously the Florida Gators, the national champions, but I also want to congratulate (Houston coach) Kelvin (Sampson) and the job he did. I also want to say thank you to Duke to coach (Jon) Scheyer and Cooper Flagg.
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Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.