This is an opinion piece.

Yahoo.

(Noun.) Informal. A rude, noisy or violent person.

Yahoo.

(Interjection.) Used to express exuberant delight or triumph.

Example of “yahoo” in a sentence.

Some wiseacre at Yahoo Sports produced a social media post comparing the average ages of the starting five for Auburn (23.2) and the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder (24.4), and other yahoos that favor other college teams let out a “Yahoo!” They were delighted at this spurious linkage as if it diminished the work of the best team in college basketball.

Ironically, the average IQ of the online mobsters finding fault with the average age of the Auburn starting five is also 23.2.

To them, I say, do what the Tigers have done, if you’re able. Grow up.

Imagine the mentality of anyone who would find fault with a program giving its players plenty of reasons to stick around as long as possible, not all of those reasons attached to dollar signs. To improve as individuals, as Johni Broome has done as much as anyone in the country during his time on the Plains. To grow as people, as Dylan Cardwell has done in becoming an Auburn ambassador for the ages.

To forge a bond as a group, as this Auburn team clearly has done while making history at every turn. You know how many SEC programs have been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll for as many as seven consecutive weeks? Ever? Only two, Kentucky and this Auburn team.

You know how many SEC programs have won at least 25 games in six of the last eight seasons? Only one, Auburn, though Tennessee can match that run with two more victories.

That these Tigers are two games clear of second-place Alabama with three games to play in the toughest SEC in memory, that they’ve put themselves in commanding position to earn the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, that they’ve done it with a core of veterans that share the ball, the dirty work and the credit, is something to celebrate, not denigrate.

Not to mention, in terms of college experience, Auburn is not the “oldest” team in the sport. It’s not the “oldest” team in the SEC. It’s not even the “oldest” team in the state. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Or would Alabama fans prefer that Mark Sears be playing the best ball of his career at the moment for the Oklahoma City Thunder?

How many of Auburn’s critics would like college basketball to return to the days when too many not ready for prime time players left for a shot at the NBA at the first opportunity?

The gifted JD Davison, who spent only one season at Alabama in 2021-22 – the season between SEC regular-season and tournament titles – is tearing up the G League for the Maine Celtics. He could be a senior with the Crimson Tide this season.

Don’t remember a lot of tears shed around the SEC when Auburn lost four one-and-done players in three years in Isaac Okoro, Sharife Cooper, JT Thor and Jabari Smith Jr. The game changed after they departed with the introduction of the transfer portal and NIL. Those sea changes incentivized players to stay in college longer, which has helped them mature as ballers and as young men.

It’s a win-win for the entire sport.

Bruce Pearl and his Auburn staff have changed with the times as well as anyone. Witness their 26-2 record after completing the Ole Miss sweep Wednesday night. They may not have an NBA lottery pick on their deep and talented roster, but their work in player development and retention has put them in position to make a run at the national championship.

Ditto for Nate Oats and Alabama, where the return of Sears and Grant Nelson for their fifth college seasons became the foundation of a team that looks fully capable of getting back to the Final Four and finishing the drill.

So spare us your not-so-subtle ageism, complete with snappy graphics. The best player on the best team in college basketball isn’t a senior citizen. He’s not eligible for Social Security benefits or AARP membership.

Johni Broome is 22, the same age as Patrick Ewing when the celebrated center played the last game of his Georgetown career in the national championship game. No one remembers how old Ewing was when that game began. We remember only how it ended – with the Hoyas falling victim to Villanova in one of the greatest upsets of all time.

Broome is capable of leading Auburn to a final game on the biggest stage – and, unlike Ewing, of not regretting the ending for the rest of his long and happy life.