This is an opinion column.
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It was a conversation with Chaney Johnson that helped to connect the dots.
Johnson is Auburn’s versatile power forward. He comes off the bench for the Tigers. Johnson is from Alabaster and played for Thompson High School. He then went to the University of Alabama in Huntsville before hitting a late growth spurt.
He made an impression on Auburn coach Bruce Pearl two years ago during an exhibition game. Johnson scored 14 points. When he entered the transfer portal after the season, Pearl gave him a call.
“I never thought I’d be a Tiger,” said Johnson, who says he was six feet, two inches in his senior year of high school.
And yet he’s arrived at the Final Four, preparing to take on the Florida Gators on Saturday at the Alamodome.
Johnson is now listed at six feet, seven inches. He said something before the Elite Eight that stayed with me. He was talking about Auburn’s offensive firepower.
“It’s an equilibrium,” Johnson said.
Balance, in other words, for people like me unfamiliar with the proper use of big words.
The Gators might — MIGHT — have an edge on Auburn when it comes to projected NBA talent, but the Tigers have balance. They can win games in a variety of ways. They can go inside to Johnson and Johni Broome. They can get hot on the wings with Miles Kelly, Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford. Auburn can slow it down or speed it up. This team can bang and get nasty or break off a 20-point run in about three minutes.
Being a hoops junkie, and thinking about basketball in San Antonio, I can’t help but recognize the similarities between these Auburn basketball Tigers and the 2014 NBA San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs even won the NBA Finals that season against a team from Florida (the Miami Heat). Auburn takes on the University of Florida in the national semifinals.
Mmh, close enough.
And no doubt Spurs legend Gregg Popovich would agree he’s a mirror image of Bruce Pearl.
Both guys are players’ coaches.
Both are future Hall of Famers.
Both are charismatic leaders and … what’s the best way to put this … outspoken about stuff that might not have anything to do with basketball.
Those Spurs featured the lovable Manu Ginóbeli, who led Argentina to an improbable Olympic gold medal in basketball. These Tigers have international hoops hero Chad Baker-Mazara.
Those Spurs had cocksure point guard Tony Parker. These Tigers have freshman Tahaad Pettiford, who Pearl affectionately calls “a little sh*t.”
Those Spurs leaned on sharpshooter Danny Green. These Tigers need Miles Kelly to get hot in the Final Four.
Those Spurs had hefty big man Tiago Splitter (6-11, 245 pounds). These Tigers wouldn’t be in San Antonio without Mr. Auburn, Himself, Dylan Cardwell (6-11, 255 pounds).
Those Spurs had smooth-shooting power forward Boris Diaw. These Tigers found a diamond in the rough with Johnson, the power forward from Alabaster.
Those Spurs had defensive maestro Kawhi Leonard. These Tigers have All-SEC defensive genius Denver Jones.
We could go on and on.
San Antonio has its rodeo when the Spurs are out of town and Auburn has a rodeo on the same day as the Final Four.
The “Aubie With Spurs” rabbit hole we’ve navigated together with this column while I’m stuck for hours in the Denver Airport leads to this important conclusion: Johni Broome is a dead ringer for the college version of Spurs Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, aka the “Big Fundamental.”
Soft spoken and laidback off the court, Broome arrived in San Antonio as a finalist for the Naismith National Player of the Year. The award is his after his magical moment in the Elite Eight.
Duncan was a cerebral superstar who beat people by doing all the little things better than anyone else. That’s Broome, who has been injured for most of the season but still etched his name in Auburn lore thanks to things like footwork, great hands and uncommon determination.
“I’m a very fun guy to be around, but once you step on the court it’s a different level of seriousness that comes with it,” Broome said. “This is my career. This is my craft, so I take it very seriously. When I step on the court, I want to dominate.”
And dominate he has.
“They say when I get into one of those moods, I’m a different player,” Broome said.
This team was built for this moment. Auburn has balance. Auburn has Broome. Like those Spurs in 2014, the pressure is on the other team in San Antonio. The Tigers aren’t even the favorite to win.
Now the challenge is taking the best season in Auburn history one step further by becoming the first team in the state of Alabama to win a game in April.
“When the lights come on, you got to turn that switch,” Broome said.
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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book“We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”