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Auburn Basketball Star Johni Broome Plays Poker With Students Camping Out For Top-10 Matchup

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Johni Broome Auburn Basketball Poker Pearlville
iStockphoto / © Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Auburn star Johni Broome might be the best player in college basketball. It is unclear as to whether he is as good at poker as he is on the court.

The fifth-year senior and teammate Miles Kelly put their card skills to the test on Friday night!

Bruce Pearl has completely overhauled the college basketball program in eastern Alabama after he was hired in 2013. And as the Tigers keep winning, the fans — specifically students — continue to go all-out for their team. The Auburn Jungle is one of the wildest student sections in the country.

They, much like traditional blue bloods Duke or North Carolina, often camp out for multiple days to secure entry into big games. This week was not the exception with No. 6 Florida coming to town.

Auburn students are ready for basketball!

‘Pearville,’ as they call it, was already at capacity by Thursday morning.

It was absolutely rocking on a glorious Friday afternoon as students went back and forth to class.

As a gesture of good faith, Pearl and his players showed out to the campsite on Friday evening. They brought with them some chicken sandwiches and pizza.

The 11th-year head coach made sure the students were keeping up with their academics.

Most of the team went back home after the food had been distributed. Johni Broome, who could beat out Cooper Flagg for National Player of the Year, and Kelly stuck around. They put their chips (completely meaningless, not real money, just for fun) on the table to play a few hands of poker with the very same people who will help will them to victory approximately 18 hours later.

This kind of thing is what makes college basketball so awesome. A former football school in the SEC has become a powerhouse on the hardwood with one of the most passionate student sections in the country. The players are out there playing poker on the night before the game. That’s a moment the students and the student-athletes will never forget.