NCAA Basketball: Duke, Kentucky among the 8 finalists for transfer Johni Broome

The Bulldogs have to deal with the pending future of All-American and WCC Player of the Year Drew Timme, who has entered the NBA Draft process but has not signaled a complete departure from the program. It’s viewed as a 50/50 decision so the team needs to make sure that they have a Plan B in case Timme is gone.

If the star big man is gone, Gonzaga should be a very appealing option for Broome for a number of reasons. The first is that they’re in the WCC so the center transfer can put up huge numbers and instead of doing it for a team in a one-bid league, Broome would be playing for the only team in NCAA Basketball to make seven straight Sweet 16 appearances.

Broome would also be on a team with fairly young guards in Hunter Sallis and Nolan Hickman so the junior center would get to be a focal point of the offense. The downside would be that the Bulldogs aren’t in the national spotlight as the other big names on this last until March.

Of course, Timme being back would likely take the Bulldogs out of contention. Timme “can” stretch the floor a little better than Castleton of Florida but he’s best in the paint on his own. And Broome would likely see his offensive usage be cut down considerably and be used mainly as a rim protector and rebounder against the more physical centers in the NCAA Tournament.

So there’s some good and bad here but the other options coming up make more sense, no matter what happens with the NBA Draft.