Johni Broome of Auburn, Cooper Flagg of Duke unanimous picks to lead the AP All-America team

One is a fifth-year senior who began his career at a mid-major, the other a first-year wunderkind recruited by everyone. The first is a now leading a program on the rise, while the other is the unmistakable star for a traditional power.

Johni Broome of Auburn and Cooper Flagg of Duke do have something in common, though: The forwards were unanimous first-team picks for The Associated Press men’s college basketball All-America teams released Tuesday.

They were joined on the first team by Alabama star Mark Sears, Purdue's Braden Smith and Walter Clayton Jr. of Florida.

Only Broome, a third-team pick a year ago, and Flagg were among the first five on the ballots of all 61 national media members who vote for the weekly AP Top 25. Broome becomes the Tigers' fourth All-American and first to make the first team, while Flagg is the 19th different Blue Devils player to earn first-team recognition.

“He’s doing things nobody really has ever done before," Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. "And he’s not about numbers. I’m telling you, when this dude goes home, somebody says to him, ‘Man, you had 42, six and seven,’ he’ll say, ‘OK, cool.’ That’s not what he’s about, which to me makes it even better because you can get caught up with that, especially as a young player.”

Maybe that is something else that Broome and Flagg have in common: Both are eyeing a national championship. Auburn spent eight weeks at No. 1 this year, while Duke ascended to the top spot when the Tigers stumbled down the stretch.

Now, the two programs head to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in their respective regions.

“I’ve proved a lot individually through my career but my main goal is a team goal, which is to win the national championship,” said Broome, who played two seasons at Morehead State before spending the past three with the Tigers. "When the team shines, everyone shines individually. Coming from where I came from, it means a lot to me.”

Sears was a second-team pick last season, when he helped to lead the Crimson Tide to their first Final Four. He initially declared for the NBA draft but withdrew in late May, choosing instead to return to Alabama for another run at a national title.

He's the Crimson Tide's second first-team All-American after Brandon Miller two years ago.

Smith was an honorable mention pick last year, when Purdue teammate Zach Edey was a unanimous first-team pick for the second straight season. With Edey off to the NBA, Smith became the go-to player for a bunch of Boilermakers who will be trying to return to the national championship game after losing to UConn there a year ago.

Florida had never had a first-team All-American before Clayton, who helped the Gators climb as high as No. 2 in the Top 25 this season. He's also their first All-American since 2007, when second-teamer Joakim Noah and third-team choice Al Horford led the Gators to their second consecutive national championship.

Perhaps the versatile Clayton will be able to lead Florida back to the top in March Madness.

“Whatever path, I like my guys,” he said. “Me and my guys against whoever.”

JT Toppin transferred from New Mexico to Texas Tech, John Tonje from Missouri to Wisconsin and PJ Haggerty from Tulsa to Memphis, and all took advantage of a change in scenery to have breakout seasons and earn second-team All-America honors.

The trio was joined on the second team by Kam Jones of Marquette and RJ Luis Jr. of St. John's.

Hunter Dickinson of Kansas and fellow big man Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton were third-team picks, making it three straight years that each appeared on an All-America team. Both were honorable mention two years ago, while Dickinson was a second-team pick and Kalkbrenner honorable mention again last season.

They were joined on the third team by Zakai Zeigler of Tennessee, Eric Dixon of Villanova and Houston's LJ Cryer, who was the Big 12 player of the year and an honorable mention All-America pick last season.

Chaz Lanier of Tennessee and Trey Kaufman-Renn of Purdue were among the next 10 (including ties) in voting who earned honorable mention recognition. Other honorable mentions included Donovan Dent of New Mexico, Drake's Bennett Stirtz and Chucky Hepburn of Louisville.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Seton Hall's Dylan Addae-Wusu, left, and Prince Aligbe, right, fights for control of the ball with Villanova's Eric Dixon, center, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Big East basketball tournament Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner, right, defends DePaul's CJ Gunn (11) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Big East basketball tournament Thursday, March 13, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Qatar’s prime minister on Saturday said the Gaza ceasefire has reached a “critical moment” as its first phase winds down, with the remains of just one Israeli hostage still held by militants in Gaza.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told an international conference in the Qatari capital that international mediators, led by the U.S., are working “to force the way forward” to the second phase to cement the deal.

“What we have just done is a pause,” he told the Doha Forum. “We cannot consider it yet a ceasefire.”

“A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, there is stability back in Gaza, people can go in and out, which is not the case today,” he said.

While the ceasefire halted the heavy fighting of the two-year war, Gaza health officials say that over 360 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the truce took effect in October.

In new violence, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike northwest of Gaza City, Shifa Hospital said.

There was no immediate comment from Israel. But the Israeli army says it has carried out a number of attacks on Palestinians crossing the ceasefire lines into Israeli-controlled territory in Gaza.

The first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan took effect Oct. 10. The fighting stopped and dozens of hostages held in Gaza were exchanged for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prison. Israel sent a delegation last week to Egypt for talks on returning the remains of the last hostage.

The next phase, which includes the deployment of an international security force in Gaza, formation of a new technocratic government for the territory, disarmament of Hamas and an eventual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, has not yet begun.

Arab and Western officials told The Associated Press on Friday that an international body overseeing the ceasefire, to be led by Trump himself, is expected to be appointed by the end of the year. In the long term, the plan also calls for a possible “pathway” to Palestinian independence.

Sheikh Mohammed said that even the upcoming phase should be “temporary” and that peace in the region could only take place with the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state — something that is opposed by Israel's hard-line government.

“If we are just resolving what happened in Gaza, the catastrophe that happened in the last two years, it’s not enough,” he said. “There is a root for this conflict. And this conflict is not only about Gaza."

He added: “It’s about Gaza. It’s about the West Bank. It’s about the rights of the Palestinians for their state. We are hoping that we can work together with the U.S. administration to achieve this vision at the end of the day.”

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said there is a “big question” over the formation of an international security force for Gaza. Speaking at the same conference, he said it's unclear which countries will be joining the force, what the command structure would look like and what its “first mission” will be.

Turkey is one of the “guarantors” of the ceasefire, but Israel, which has rocky relations with the Ankara government, has rejected any Turkish participation in the force.

“Thousands of details, questions are in place,” Fidan said. "I think once we deploy ISF, the rest will come.”

The war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants entered Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking over 250 people hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed over 70,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says that nearly half the dead have been women and children. The ministry is part of Gaza's Hamas government and its numbers are considered reliable by the U.N. and other international bodies.

Israel accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields.

Find more of AP’s Israel-Hamas coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians stand amid the destruction left by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Gaza City Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)