There will never be another Shaquille O’Neal. But at rare times, some players have indeed come close to what the Big Aristotle did on the court. Not in the NBA, but a 22-year-old star in the SEC is also quite close to that level. He has also recently set a record of 12 double-double performances this season. He is clearly up for big action as analysts shower praise upon him.

After the latest matchup, the analysts on College GameDay emphasized Broome’s impressive stats. He is averaging over 19 points and over 11 rebounds. Broome was also named the SEC Player of the Week for the fourth time this season. With his performance, Broome is making a strong case for Player of the Year, and at the same time, he is also leading the Tigers.

“Auburn is the most complete team in college basketball and right now Johni Broome is the player of the year,” Seth Greenberg said. “Broome is averaging over 19 points, over 11 rebounds, and just under 3 blocks. Last time that happened in the SEC was Shaquille O’Neal,” Jay Bilas said as per an X post by Taylor Korn.

He had to miss two games due to an ankle injury. He made up for it after his return, notching two double-double performances. At the same time, he also led Auburn to an 87-74 victory over LSU. 

Nearly 34 years ago, O’Neal was also named the SEC Player of the Year in 1991, where he averaged 27.2 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 5.23 blocks per game. The Los Angeles Lakers legend also led LSU to an appearance in the NCAA tournament during his run. Bilas believes that Broome has gotten quite close enough. Earlier this month, he also stated his opinion on the Auburn star’s chances to win the Wooden Award. 

Jay Bilas chose Johni Broome over Cooper Flagg

Both Broome and his opponent, Cooper Flagg, are heavily favored for the John R. Wooden Award. But Bilas claimed that Broome was more deserving of the honor. Taking to social media, analyst Bilas brought out the stats to support his opinion. 

“I would have Johni Broome of Auburn still number one. He’s still averaging over 19 points, 11 rebounds, almost three blocks a game, shooting close to 60% from the field,” he added. “And he’s been incredibly consistent on what may be the best team in the country in Auburn.”

He also praised Flagg for quickly leveling up his game to compete with Broome. He added, “But Cooper Flagg has made a huge jump to challenge Broome, and especially over the last three or four games. During that stretch, he’s averaging over 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists, close to two blocks and shooting over 60% from the field.”

Both are featured on the list of the top 25 players, including Mark Sears, Ace Bailey, Hunter Dickinson, and more. We will have to wait until the John R. Wooden Award winner is announced in April.