"Had never been done before": Bruce Pearl explains why Cooper Flagg shouldn't win Player of the Year over Johni Broome

Bruce Pearl, the 2025 SEC Coach of the Year, shared his perspective on the Player of the Year debate surrounding Duke's Cooper Flagg and Auburn's Johni Broome. Both players had standout seasons, leading their respective teams to regular-season conference titles.

During Tuesday's episode of the "Dan Patrick Show," Pearl joined via a video call to discuss a variety of topics, including his team's success, recruiting challenges and the future of college basketball.

During the conversation, Patrick asked Pearl who he believes is the best player in college this year.

"I think Johni Broome should be the college player of the year because of all that he's accomplished and all that he's able to do for our team," Pearl said. "He leads us in scoring, rebounding, and assists, and has obviously stepped up in the biggest games." [3:46]

Bruce Pearl also acknowledged Flagg, the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie and Player of the Year, as a terrific player. However, he argued that Broome's contributions to The Tigers' historic season should be the determining factor.

"What Auburn has done this year through this league, to have 16 quad one wins, had never been done before," Pearl said. "That means we had 20 games against quad one ... and to win 16 of those out of 20 is just unprecedented. Therefore, I feel like our best player is the best player in college basketball."

Broome is averaging 18.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He has helped lead the Tigers to a 27-4 overall and 15-3 SEC record.

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Bruce Pearl wins his 4th SEC Coach of the Year award

Bruce Pearl was named the SEC Coach of the Year for the 2024-25 season on Tuesday. It was his fourth time winning the award in his career: two times at Tennessee in 2006 and 2008 and twice at Auburn in 2022 and 2025.

While accepting his award, Pearl said:

"It is great to be recognized by your peers. I got so much respect for the league and the coaches in it. To earn their respect for the job this team did this year is something I am grateful for.

This season, he led the Tigers to their third SEC regular-season championship under his tenure.

Pearl has steadily built the Tigers into a title contender since taking over as the coach in 2024. In 2018, Auburn won its first conference championship in two decades and the following year reached the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.