MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Auburn basketball will have a luxury next season it seems few teams get to enjoy in the current era of college sports.
The Tigers are returning the bulk of their production from the 2023-24 campaign, including 58.2% of their scholarship scoring. All-American big man Johni Broome is back for a third and final year on the Plains, and two other starters from last season’s squad — Denver Jones and Chad Baker-Mazara — are joining him.
Couple those key returnees with some notable newcomers such as transfers JP Pegues (Furman) and Miles Kelly (Georgia Tech) and five-star freshman Tahaad Pettiford, and the Tigers are lining themselves up to compete for a couple of SEC titles in coach Bruce Pearl’s 11th season.
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It won’t be handed to them, though. Not in a conference that features Alabama, Arkansas, Florida and Tennessee, among others. Becoming the best of that group will require development from Auburn’s returners, no matter how well they played last season.
With the roster set, here’s an area of improvement for each of the seven scholarship players who are back:
Denver Jones: Ball-handling
Pegues is going to start at point guard. That’s not a question. How the Tigers plan on backing him up is where it gets interesting. Splitting the reserve duties between Jones and Pettiford seems to make the most sense, meaning Jones should focus on having the ball in his hands more. It’s a small sample size, but the former Florida International transfer has already shown some ability to play PG − the Tigers were +6 last season in the 22.7 minutes that featured Jones on the floor without lead guards Aden Holloway and Tre Donaldson.
Chad Baker-Mazara: Stature
Pearl views Baker-Mazara as a potential pro, and that makes sense; the length is there, as is the defensive ability and 3-point shooting. Baker-Mazara has always had a slight frame − Auburn lists him at 6-foot-7, 180 pounds − but he’ll need to bulk up some to withstand the physical grind. Another result of Baker-Mazara getting thicker would be the ability for him to play some minutes at power forward if Pearl wants to run a small-ball lineup.
Chris Moore: Confidence
Chris Moore started the first 26 games last season before he virtually completley fell out of the rotation in favor of Lior Berman. Berman injured his knee in March, though, which opened the door back up for Moore, who took advantage by averaging 6 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 8-for-8 in the SEC Tournament. When Moore lost his spot in the rotation, Pearl had a meeting with him that centered around the message of not being afraid to fail. That seemed to resonate.
Chaney Johnson: Playmaking
Pearl recently brought up the idea of Chaney Johnson playing some minutes at small forward if the Tigers ever wanted to run a big lineup. He thinks Johnson, a natural PF, could handle it defensively, but he wants to see the former Alabama-Huntsville transfer work on his playmaking abilities this summer.
“He’s a good passer, not a great passer,” Pearl said of Johnson on May 20. “As he has the ball in his hands more, is he able to be as productive without turning the ball over? That’s just going to take a summer of putting it in his hands and letting him actually make some mistakes this summer. Letting him be really aggressive with the ball, kick it around a little bit so he gets more comfortable with it.”
Johni Broome: Corner shooting
There really aren’t many holes in Broome’s game. He can defend well, score in the post and he expanded his abilities to include a 3-point shot last season. He made 35.4% of his attempts from long range in 2023-24, and he was best from the wings and at the top of the key with a combined rate of 36.4% from those areas of the floor. From the corners, he sat at 30.1%. If there’s anywhere for him to improve, that’s it.
Dylan Cardwell: Fouling
Likely the most physical player on the team, Dylan Cardwell brings value as an interior defender. One his biggest flaws, however, is his propensity for fouling. According to College Basketball Analytics, Cardwell averaged 6.4 fouls per 40 minutes last season. Figuring out a way to still be an elite defender − his block percentage of 11.% was No. 3 amongst all player in the SEC − and limit the fouling would be huge.
Addarin Scott: Consistency
Addarin Scott, a third scholarship big man on the roster who competes with Broome and Cardwell at practice, played 22 minutes across 15 games last season. He finished with six points, six rebounds and three blocks in that time.
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.