Morehead State freshman center Johni Broome has been tabbed a finalist for the Lou Henson National Player of the Year award.
By being on the list, he is a Lou Henson Award All-American. The Lou Henson Award honors the nation's top player from a Mid-Major school.
A Plant City, Fla., native, the second-year big man was a nearly unanimous choice for OVC Defensive Player of the Year, just the second Eagle to ever earn that prestigious postseason honor.
Broome altered the game plan of coaches throughout the entire NCAA due to his shot blocking ability. He blocked a Morehead State record 131 shots, ranking third in the nation. That figure was the third highest single-season total in Ohio Valley Conference history, just eight off the record set back in 1982. That comes as no surprise when you look up and see he has also been nominated for the Collegeinsider.com Lefty Driessell National Defensive Player of the Year.
For any player to be awarded National Player of the Year, they must demonstrate dominance on both defense and offense. Broome has certainly exceeded that standard. Broome corralled 358 rebounds, which is tenth all-time in Morehead state history. He also led the team in scoring with 572 total points on the year.
Arguably, Broome's most impressive stat on the year was his 23 double-doubles, which parked him at the number two spot on Morehead's single-season record for double-doubles. Twenty-three double-doubles is also the most for an OVC player since 2015-16.
By Joe Yates, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations