Thoughts on Tevin Brown and Johni Broome in the 2022 OVC Championship Game

March 5^th, 2022

By Alan Lu

Today, I took the time to watch Tevin Brown and Murray State take on Johni Broome and Morehead State to see them play in a live basketball game, and also to see which team would win in the 2022 OVC Championship game.  It was a very entertaining, riveting match that went back and forth.  Johni Broome dominated with his post play, and he also did a good job of blocking shots, but Brown and Murray State shot the ball considerably better, and they defended nearly everyone else around Broome well.  Murray State had more consistently strong team play, and they were able to hold off Morehead State to get the win.  Here are my thoughts on how Brown, Broome, and others fared in this contest.

Tevin Brown had a solid showing in his team’s win over Morehead State.  He shot the ball well early, and he also managed to score on crafty drives to the hoop.  He played a solid, all-around game, and he made a tremendous block on a three-point shot to help his team get the victory. Brown showed a decent ability to knock down jumpers in this game.  He shot the ball really well early on, and he is a quick, agile guard that would run very fast off ball screens to score on spot-up threes off of pin-downs.  He really excelled at making threes off pin-downs, especially early on, and he also drew three free throws when hoisting up another quick three off of a pin-down another time.  However, he was also quite streaky with his shot, and he would take quick, contested threes both off the catch and dribble that would wind up missing.

He also did a good job of scoring off the dribble.  Brown is a crafty scorer that changes directions well, and he can subtly make quick moves to score on crafty layups using either hand.  He also was able to take on the contact to score while drawing an extra free throw once, and he can finish plays using either hand.  Sometimes though, he would rush his moves, which would lead him to miss shots in traffic, especially when he wouldn’t get foul calls.

Also, he showed off satisfactory playmaking skills on offense.  Brown would sometimes look to get the ball to open shooters, and he also was able to push the ball off of a steal and get the ball to a shooter to set up a score for him on the break.  He also would kick balls out to shooters off the dribble to set up scoring chances for them.  On the downside, he also committed a couple of turnovers.  He telegraphed an entry pass that ended up getting deflected and intercepted.  Another time, he lost the ball when handling the ball on the break, as the ball slipped out of his hands on that possession.

Plus, Brown did a good job of rebounding the basketball.  He would chase down balls to get them on both ends of the floor, and he was able to push the ball up the court off of a defensive rebound once.  Brown also defended well in this game.  He intercepted a pass that went right to him to get a steal, and he made a clutch block on a three-point shot to himself due to possessing solid athleticism, timing, and instincts.  He did a very good job of contesting threes to force misses, and he also successfully drew a charge another time.

In general, Tevin Brown played well in his team’s win over Morehead State.  He was streaky with his jump shot, but he showed off versatile scoring skills, and he showed a high basketball IQ in being able to move off the ball and change directions off the dribble to make those shots.  He also had a solid, all-around game, and he made key defensive plays in crunch time.  He is a smart, skilled combo guard that showed a wide range of versatility, and he could be a solid pick for an NBA team in the second round of the 2022 draft.

Johni Broome had a tremendous showing in his team’s loss to Murray State.  He especially thrived at scoring in the post and on rolls to the rim, and he also defended well when he was on the court. Broome did a very good job of scoring in the post.  He is a strong, mobile big man that really excelled at scoring on the block.  He would use spin moves and pump fakes to get open, and he would score on turnaround jumpers, jump hooks and layups, and he is a crafty player that would absorb the contact to draw many free throws.  On the downside, sometimes he would miss on turnaround jump hooks, and sometimes he would set up too far away that would lead to misses.

He also thrived at scoring on hustle plays.  Broome would often score on rolls to the rim, and he also was able to score on a powerful dunk once.  He also managed to score on a strong put back while drawing an extra free throw another time.  Plus, Broome also was able to make an open, mid-range jumper off the catch.  He also managed to score on a strong, left-handed drive to the hoop.  On the downside, he rarely would look to go to his right, and Broome would sometimes miss on awkward, rushed drives in traffic.

He also looked to be about average at best as a playmaker in this game.  When posting up once, Broome was able find a cutter to notch an assist.  However, he also committed a couple of turnovers.  On a high post drive, he had a ball poked away from him when handling it that led to a turnover.  He also was called for setting a moving screen another time. Also, Broome did a decent job of rebounding the basketball.  On the other hand, he was called for pushing off and committing an over the back foul on an offensive rebounding attempt late in this game.

Broome also played solid defense in this game.  He did a good job of blocking shots to help his team protect the paint.  He also was able to get his hands on a pass to get a steal, and he poked a ball away to help his team get another.  He also would often contest shots in the paint to force misses.  On the downside, sometimes he would struggle to defend quicker ball handlers on drives, even after making his rotations, and it would sometimes lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.

In summary, Johni Broome turned in a very good showing in his team’s loss to Murray State.  He is a strong, mobile big man that showed a knack for scoring in the paint, and he is a shot blocker that would help his team shore up the paint.  He was the most consistently productive player amongst all of the players that played in this game tonight, and he ended up scoring 32 points in this game.  He may be a very underrated prospect, and he could end up being a good find for an NBA team whenever he decides to enter the NBA draft.

Morehead State’s 6-3 senior guard, Tray Hollowell played very well in his team’s loss to Murray State.  He’s an athletic combo guard that shot the ball very well, especially in the second half.  He showed a knack for making threes both off the catch and dribble, and he was very adept at running off ball screens to make threes off of pin-downs.  He made a deep three off the dribble early on, and he also made a bank three off of a pin-down late in this match.

Hollowell displayed adequate playmaking skills.  He is an unselfish player that will make the extra pass to find the open man, and he was able to notch a pair of assists.  On the other hand, he also was called for a charging foul when handling the ball once.  Though he didn’t grab many rebounds in this game, Hollowell was able to collect a pair of defensive boards.

He played satisfactory defense in this game.  Hollowell rotated to contest a three to force a miss.  He also rotated to defend an opponent on a roll, and he was able to force his man to commit a traveling violation.  On another play though, he sagged a bit too far off of his man, which led him to allow his opponent to score on a corner three once.

Overall, Tray Hollowell played well, and he especially thrived as an athletic shooter to help his team space the floor in this game.  He kept his team in it down the stretch, and he shot the ball very well from beyond the arc.  He has been a streaky shooter over the years, but his athleticism and shooting ability could enable him to carve out a lengthy playing career in professional basketball.

KJ Williams didn’t have his best game, but he was able to make enough plays down the stretch to help Murray State get the win.  He really struggled in the first half and didn’t get nearly as many offensive touches as expected, but he was still able to make a variety of plays, and he competed hard throughout the contest.

Williams showed a solid ability to score in the post.  He was able to get deep position to score on a right-handed hook shot, and he drew free throws on another.  He also showed off some shooting skills.  Williams used a ball fake to knock down a three-point shot in this game.  On the downside, he had trouble scoring off the dribble, as he would sometimes struggle to score in traffic, especially when matched up against taller defenders.  He also missed on a put back due to rushing.

Williams was also fairly turnover prone.  For the positives, he is an unselfish passer that will look to pass out of the post.  Late in this game, he also chased down a loose ball to help his team retain possession of the ball on offense, and drew a foul on the defender shortly afterwards.  However, he tended to throw inaccurate passes, and he threw one that skipped out of bounds.  When slipping a screen, he received the ball but was called for a traveling violation that time.

He also did a very good job of rebounding the basketball.  Williams was able to haul in numerous boards to help his team on both ends of the floor, and he also would box out his opponents, as he did so once to draw a foul late in this match.  Also, he played adequate defense in this game.  Williams would get his hands on passes to get steals and deflections.  He also hedged out hard onto an opposing ball handler and poked a ball away to nearly get another.  He also would tend to hold his ground and contest shots when defending in the post to force misses.  Plus, he would actively contest shots off of drives to get stops for his team.  Sometimes though, he would allow opponents to get easy catches and deep position down low, and he would get beat on moves when defending in the post.  He also had trouble being decisive on how to defend screens at times, and he also sometimes would sag too far off of shooters.

Overall, KJ Williams had his ups and downs, but he was able to make enough plays to help his team get the win over Morehead State.  His team was able to get an automatic bid to get to the 2022 NCAA Tournament, and he is a strong, mobile big man that will get more chances to play well and improve his draft stock over the course of this season.

Morehead State’s redshirt sophomore combo guard, Ta’lon Cooper also played very well in his team’s loss to Murray State.  He showed off versatile scoring skills, and he defended very well, as he played with great energy and blocked many shots in this contest.

Cooper showed an adequate ability to knock down jumpers.  He was able to dribble off of a screen to make a smooth, pull-up three, and he also made a contested mid-range jumper off the dribble another time.  He also showed a knack for scoring on strong put backs.  He also managed to score on a right-handed drive to the hoop, but he also struggled to score consistently on half-court drives, as he would also tend to miss shots wildly around the basket on those plays. 

He also passed and handled the ball very well.  Cooper is an unselfish player that would look to find the open man to notch assists, and he also threw a pocket pass to set up a score for a roll man another time.  On one play though, he fell and lost the ball while handling it to commit a turnover.

He also did a decent job of rebounding the basketball, and Cooper especially thrived at collecting offensive boards.  On one play though, he was called for an over the back foul when going for an offensive rebound once.  He also defended well.  He did a tremendous job of blocking shots, as he would often swat shots out of bounds to help his team protect the paint, and he also blocked a three point shot.  Cooper also jumped on a loose ball that was deflected to him to help his team get a steal, and he also managed to defend a pass.  Sometimes though, he would be late on his rotations and struggle to defend his man off cuts and off the dribble, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.

Overall, Ta’lon Cooper had a good showing in his team’s loss to Murray State.  He had a good all-around game, and he is a high-motor combo guard that could be a prospect to watch sometime in the future.

Murray State’s 6-0 redshirt sophomore point guard, Justice Hill also played fairly well in his team’s win over Morehead State.  He shot the ball well from beyond the arc, and he also showed off versatile scoring skills.  Hill did a very good job of knocking down quick, spot-up threes off the catch, and he was able to make a couple from way out.  He also showed a knack for scoring on speedy drives on the break.  He also would score on runners off of quick, strong drives to the hoop, but he also would tend to miss on wild drives due to rushing.  He also missed on a couple of pull-up, mid-range jumpers.

He showed off average at best playmaking skills.  Hill would swing the ball to open shooters to notch assists.  Sometimes though, he would over-dribble, which would lead him to commit ball-handling turnovers, and other times he would throw hasty passes that would get intercepted.  He also managed to get a pair of rebounds to chip in on the glass.  He also played adequate defense.  Hill was able to jump a pass to get a steal, and he also poked a ball away to nearly get another.  He was able to contest a corner three to force a miss, but there was one time where he didn’t stay with a shooter on a switch, which led his team to give up a three-point basket another time.

Overall, Justice Hill is an agile, skilled playmaker that excelled as a sharpshooter in this game, and he also generally defended well.  On the other hand, he is also an undersized point guard that struggled to consistently score off the dribble, and was turnover prone in this game.  He will need to make more shots consistently in games, especially against upper-echelon opponents, but he has been a solid player for his team, and he could be a player to watch in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

Morehead State’s 6-5 guard, Jaylon Hall had his ups and downs in his team’s loss to Murray State.  He played well in the first half, but he seemed to fade into the background in the second half.  Hall did a good job of shooting the ball, and he showed a knack for making spot-up threes off the catch.  He also was able to use a ball fake to score on an aggressive drive in transition, but he struggled to consistently score off the dribble, as he would sometimes miss shots wildly in traffic.

He also was average at best as a playmaker in this game.  Hall was able to throw an accurate interior pass to a roll man to notch an assist.  However, he would throw hasty passes that would get intercepted.  He also managed to haul in several defensive boards to chip in on the glass.  Hall also defended well.  He ran in to intercept a pass to get a steal, and he also contested a three to force a miss another time.

Overall, Jaylon Hall is a fairly athletic swingman that can shoot the basketball, but he will need to be more assertive on offense.  He will need to stay in school to hone his game, but he could be a prospect to watch if he has a breakout year next season.

Trae Hannibal is an athletic, sophomore combo guard that recently transferred from South Carolina, and he looked to be one of the most intriguing newcomers to the OVC this year.  He entered the season as a newcomer that could attack the hoop to score and defend, but the question mark was his ability to consistently shoot or run the team at the point.  He hasn’t put up gaudy stats this year, as he’s been in a rotation with other talented players on his team, but he’s been a fairly solid role player for his team off the bench this season.

Hannibal was able to score on a couple of strong drives to the hoop, and he showed that he can score in traffic.  Sometimes though, he would try to force the issue too much, and he would miss shots wildly in traffic.  Hannibal showed off a good mid-range shot, and he was able to pull up to knock one down in this game.  He didn’t take any threes, though.

He also was able to find the open man to notch an assist.  However, Hannibal tended to be inaccurate with his passes, as he ended up throwing a couple of inaccurate passes that sailed out of bounds.  He is a speedy guard that was able to split a double team, but he quickly negated that by throwing the ball out of bounds shortly afterwards.

Also, Hannibal did a very good job of rebounding the basketball.  Overall, Hannibal will need to play more under control, and he will need to improve his jump shot and playmaking skills.  He is an athletic, combo guard that will need to spend more time to hone his game, but he could be a prospect to watch in the future, especially if he has a breakout season sometime down the road.