Evaluating Yohan Traore, Johni Broome, and Chance Westry in Auburn’s Preseason Exhibition Game

August 7^th, 2022

By Alan Lu

Today, Auburn played against Israel’s All-Star Select team, which I had heard about after I read CBS Sports’ writer, Jon Rothstein’s tweet that has touted Yohan Troare and his strong performances recently, and both Auburn and fans of college basketball have buzzing abound about his superb play this summer.  I decided to take the time to watch him and Auburn play in this game, in which they defeated the Israel All-Star Select Team 107-71.  For those that are interested in the box score of this game, here is the link, courtesy of al.com’s beat writer, Tom Green.

I came away really impressed with Auburn’s team, as they are a very athletic squad that defends very well and applies great ball pressure, and they pretty much dominated from start to finish, especially towards the end.  Auburn really turned up the pressure to force a boatload of turnovers, and they are a strong defensive team that looks poised to make a deep run for the 2023 NCAA Tournament. I felt Traore played well, and they also had strong performances from newcomers Johni Broome and Chance Westry.  Here are my thoughts on how they and other notable performers fared in this game.

Yohan Traore is a 6-10 freshman big man that will play for Auburn in the upcoming college basketball season, and he turned in a strong showing to help lead them to an impressive victory in this game.  Troare is an athletic, skilled big man that showed off a variety of skills, and he is a versatile player that did virtually everything well on the court.

Traore shot the ball very well in this contest.  He showed a knack for making spot-up jumpers both from the mid-range and three-point land, and he also ran off the ball to make a quick mid-range jumper once.  He also did a great job of scoring on fast breaks.  He used a spin move when handling the ball and drove up court while weaving past defenders to score on a graceful layup.  Traore also managed to score on an emphatic dunk.  He excelled at scoring on hustle plays, and he would move off the ball to score and draw fouls upon his defenders.

He also showed a satisfactory ability to score from the post.  Traore used a strong drop step and a step-through move to score and get an extra free throw.  On the other hand, he missed on a turnaround jumper once.  Plus, he also drove to his left to score in traffic to showcase his ability to score off the dribble.

Also, Traore showcased adequate playmaking skills.  He is an unselfish player that will look to find the open man, and he also showed off impressive ball-handling skills in the open court.  He also managed to set a solid on-ball screen to help his teammate get more space to handle the basketball.

On the downside, Traore didn’t grab many rebounds in this game, but he was able to get a board on each end of the floor, and he also managed to score on a quick put back midway through this match.  He also played solid defense.  Traore is a rangy defender that can make numerous plays on the ball to get stops for his team.  He was able to run in to intercept a pass to get a steal, and he also was able to recover to poke a ball away to nearly get another.  Plus, Traore was able to rotate to block a shot hard to help his team protect the paint due to possessing long arms as well as solid athleticism, timing, and instincts.  He also did a good job of contesting shots in the post to force misses.  On one play though, he sagged too far off of a shooter and allowed his man to score on an open three-point shot once.

Overall, Yohan Troare is an athletic, skilled big man that is really turning heads with his strong play in the exhibition games this summer.  He has shown solid perimeter skills in addition to being able to excel as a post player on both ends of the floor.  He is a talented prospect that could swiftly move up draft boards, and he could end up being a first round pick in the 2023 draft.

Johni Broome also played very well to help lead Auburn to a blowout win in this game.  He is an athletic, energetic big man that made a lot of hustle plays to help his team on both ends of the floor, and he also was able to make some highlight reel-worthy plays when he was on the court.

Broome did a good job of scoring in the post.  He showed a knack for using drop step moves to score, and he also excelled at scoring on left-handed jump hooks due to possessing good athleticism, footwork, and scoring touch.  He also thrived at scoring on hustle plays, and he would often throw down dunks off of cuts, rolls, and on fast breaks.  He has good hands, and he also was able to catch a lob off of a roll to score on an emphatic, alley-oop dunk.  He also attempted a couple of threes, but missed both of his long-range shots from beyond the arc.

He also showed off perhaps above average playmaking skills.  Broome ran the floor to catch a ball down court, but he ended up dropping the lob pass as it went out of bounds.  On the other hand, he handled the ball well when he was on the floor in this game.

Though he didn’t grab many rebounds in this game, Broome was able to haul in boards on both ends of the floor to get his fair share of rebounds.  Plus, he also played good defense.  Broome showed a knack for rotating to block shots to help his team protect the paint.  He was able to make a chase down block once, and he also swatted a three-point shot to himself another time.   He was able to break up a pass at the rim, and he also jumped on a loose ball to help his team get a steal.  He also would contest threes to force misses.  On the downside, sometimes he would over-rotate, which led his team to a scramble situation and to giving up a three-point basket once.

Overall, Johni Broome had a very good showing in his team’s win over the Israel All-Star Select Team.  He has shown improved mobility and conditioning, and he looks poised for a breakout season at Auburn this year. 

Chance Westry is an athletic 6-6, freshman point forward that will play at Auburn for the upcoming season, and he played really well in this game.  He showed a knack for making pull-up jumpers, especially from the mid-range.  He was able to make a mid-range jumper while getting fouled, and he also pulled up to make a three early on.  He especially thrived at going to his left to knock down jumpers, but he also can go to either hand to do so.  On the other hand, he struggled to make threes consistently from beyond the arc.

He also was active in looking to score on hustle plays.  Westry is a speedy player that was able to score on quick drives in transition, and he also drew free throws on a thunderous dunk attempt another time.  He also managed to score on a quick put back off of an offensive rebound.  On the downside, sometimes he would miss on layups on the break due to rushing.

He also displayed perhaps adequate playmaking skills in this game.  Westry is an unselfish player that would throw accurate passes to find teammates on the move, and he looked to be comfortable at running the point.  Sometimes though, he would be careless when handling the ball, which would lead to turnovers.  He dragged his foot when handling it once, which led to traveling, and he also had a ball poked away another time.

Also, Westry was able to haul in his fair share of rebounds in this game.  He was able to chase down a pair of offensive boards, and he also managed to push the ball up the court off of a defensive rebound.  Westry also played good defense.  He did a great job of running in to intercept and poke balls away to help his team get numerous steals and deflections.  On the downside, there was one paly where he struggled to fight through a screen and got beat off the dribble, which led him to commit a foul and allow a score that time.

In summary, Westry is an athletic, skilled point forward that showed off a variety of skills to help his team get the win in this game.  He excelled at attacking the hoop to score the basketball, and he also defended very well throughout this contest.  He will need to continue to improve his jump shot, but he played very well, and he could be due for a breakout season at Auburn this year.

Allen Flanigan had some good moments to help his team get the win in this game.  He is a very athletic swingman that made some highlight reel-worthy plays, though he didn’t shoot the ball quite as well as hoped when he was on the court.

Flanigan showed off his tremendous athleticism by running the floor to get the ball in order to score on a thunderous, breakaway dunk.  On another play though, he ran in to get an offensive board, but missed on a quick put back due to rushing.

He also was able to utilize a crossover move to make a smooth, step-back three to showcase his shooting skills, but he wasn’t able to make his other three-point attempts.  Flanigan was able to go to his left to score on a tough, fallaway layup, but he struggled to consistently score off the dribble in this contest.

He also displayed adequate playmaking skills.  Flanigan did a good job of passing the ball, and he would make a variety of passes to set up scoring chances for his teammates.  On the downside, sometimes he would be careless when handling the basketball, which would lead to ball-handling turnovers.

Plus, he also showed a solid ability to rebound the basketball.  Flanigan played satisfactory defense in this game.  He was active in getting his hands on passes and poking balls away to help his team get steals, and he also would contest shots both out on the perimeter and in the paint to force misses.  However, he also would tend to be too aggressive defensively, which would lead him to foul jump shooters or to be out of position and give up scores to his opponents.

Overall, Allen Flanigan didn’t look to take over the game, but he made solid team plays to help his team when he was on the court.  He may not have the mindset to be a go-to scorer, but he doesn’t have to, and he played solid, team-oriented basketball today.  Currently, he projects to be a second round prospect for the 2023 draft.

Auburn’s junior center, Dylan Cardwell had his ups and downs, but he had some good moments to help his team in this game.  He is an athletic, energetic center that was able to make some highlight reel-worthy plays to help his team on the court, but he also didn’t shoot the ball very well on offense.

He thrived at scoring on hustle plays, and he would handle the ball in the open court to score on powerful dunks.  On the downside, he would sometimes miss shots wildly around the basket, and he also tended to miss shots awkwardly the further away he would take them.

K.D. Johnson also played well to help his team get the win in this game.  He is an athletic, energetic combo guard that thrived at shooting, scoring, and defending to help get his team the victory.

Johnson shot the ball very well, and he showed a knack for making open threes both off the catch and dribble.  He also would sometimes drive quickly to the hoop to score.  Sometimes he would over-dribble and miss shots in traffic, especially if he wouldn’t get foul calls his way. Also, he showed off solid playmaking skills.  Johnson did a good job of making passes off the dribble, and he showed good patient that enabled him to get assists in this game.  On one play though, he threw a weak pass that got intercepted by a defender.

He also did a good job of rebounding the basketball, and Johnson would chase down balls to get boards on both ends of the floor.  He also played solid defense in this game.  He showed a knack for getting his hands on passes, rotating to poke balls away and jumping on loose balls to help get a plethora of steals for his team.  He also managed to contest a three to force a miss.  Sometimes though, he would be too aggressive defensively and miss on steal attempts, which would lead him to wind up out of position.

Overall, K.D. Johnson put forth a good performance in this game.  He did a very good job of making plays throughout this contest, and he played at a high level when he was on the floor.  He will be an integral player for Auburn this year, and a strong season could raise his draft stock significantly in 2023.

Other Notes:

Here were my thoughts on other players that participated in this match.

Jaylin Williams (not to be confused with the Oklahoma City player) didn’t shoot the ball much, but he showed off versatile scoring skills, and he excelled as a shooter, scorer, and defender in this game.  He excelled at scoring around the basket, and he also was able to make a deep three early on.  He defended well, and he showed a knack for defending both out on the perimeter and in the paint in this game.  He will be an integral player for Auburn this year, and he could be a second round pick whenever he decides to enter the NBA draft.

Zep Jasper defended very well, and he applied heavy ball pressure throughout this contest.  He really hounded opposing ball handlers, and he was able to help his team force numerous turnovers. He is a very quick, agile combo guard that demonstrated very good defensive skills in this game.

Wendell Green Jr. didn’t have a great game, but he was able to have some good moments on the floor. He didn’t shoot the ball very well and he committed some careless turnovers on offense, but he rebounded and defended well, and he was able to throw some good interior passes in this game. He didn’t have his best game, but he is a tough, gritty playmaker that can knock down shots, and he was able to make some good hustle plays throughout this match.

Auburn’s freshman guard, Tre Donaldson defended very well, and he would apply heavy ball pressure and using his length to get steals and stops for his team.  He also was able to make some tough shots, as he scored on an acrobatic reverse layup after driving off of an offensive rebound, and he also made a mid-range floater another time.  Donaldson could provide good minutes off the bench for Auburn this year, and he played well in limited minutes in this game.

Israel All-Star Select Team’s 6-3 point guard, Nir Shefer was able to make an open corner three late in this match, and while he didn’t play much, he showed that he can knock down spot-up jumpers from long range.  He will need to play more in professional basketball, but he could be a player to keep tabs on in the future. Anyways, those are my thoughts for this game.  Thanks for reading.