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Johni Broome, Walter Clayton Jr. named finalists for Naismith Trophy
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Johni Broome and Walter Clayton Jr. are setting the NCAA Tournament on fire, and the SEC basketball duo is now headlining the finalists for the prestigious Naismith Trophy.
Given annually to the most outstanding player in college basketball, the Naismith Trophy named 4 finalists for the 2025 honor on Tuesday, with the Auburn and Florida stars leading the way. Duke freshman sensation Cooper Flagg and Purdue point guard Braden Smith are the other finalists.
Auburn, Duke and Florida all grabbed No. 1 seeds for the Big Dance and are still among the favorites in the odds to reach the Final Four this season entering the Sweet 16. Smith led the Boilermakers to a 3-seed and a 2nd straight trip to the Sweet 16 under Matt Painter.
“The brilliance of these athletes and their unrelenting passion for college basketball are evident in their outstanding accomplishments,” said Eric Oberman, president of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “Their efforts have been instrumental in their teams’ successes this season. Recognizing any of these extraordinary student-athletes with the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy would be a fitting tribute to their excellence.”
Flagg stands out as last year’s Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy High School Player of the Year. Overall, the Blue Devils have already produced 8 Naismith Trophy winners, the most for a single program in the history of the award. Zion Williamson in 2019 was the most recent Duke winner.
Broome and Clayton would both be the first winners from Auburn and Florida to capture the honor, while Purdue’s Zach Edey captured the honor in 2023 and 2024.
The final race for the Naismith Trophy is expected to come down to Broome and Flagg. Both players led their team’s to outright titles in the SEC and ACC, respectively, while capturing their conference’s Player of the Year honors.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
