‘Wow, we’ve really got something here.’ Freshman big man Broome has Morehead rising.
During a typical season, the top freshman player among men’s college basketball programs in Kentucky can be found on either the UK or U of L roster.
In so many ways, this is not a typical season.
The best freshman in the Bluegrass State you’ve probably never heard of laces his sneakers well east of both Louisville and Lexington; and he’s arguably the best college hoops newcomer in Kentucky, period.
Johni Broome wasn’t heavily recruited over the course of his high school career in Florida, but during a junior campaign in which he led Tampa Catholic to the Class 5A state championship, Morehead State Coach Preston Spradlin got a tip that it would behoove him to take a glance at the 6-foot-10 big man — whose first name is pronounced “JUH-nye.”
Spradlin got a first-hand look at Broome on the AAU circuit during the Adidas Gauntlet in Birmingham, Ala.
“We watched him play and really liked what we saw, so at that point we started diving in and really recruiting him,” Spradlin told the Herald-Leader during a phone interview. “We were very fortunate we got Johni and his family to come up for a visit … Shortly after, he committed. Then he goes on to have a great high school senior year; first-team All-State down in Florida, led his team back to the state championship game.”
Broome said he and his family were quickly sold on Morehead because of the way in which Spradlin and the rest of the coaching staff recruited him.
“I felt like Morehead was being honest and up-front with me. They showed me that they really wanted me,” Broome said. “After they made it official that they were offering me (a scholarship), I knew that they were serious. They stayed in touch and they talked with my mom and my dad, and everybody in my family. Because of that, it felt like they were family, too.”
Broome arrived on the Morehead State campus last summer as a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com, having chosen the Eagles over Florida Atlantic and Georgia Southern, among others. He and the MSU staff immediately went to work filling out his skinny frame, and in a matter of months Broome added 25 pounds of muscle.
“When he got on campus he was a skinny rail. We’re thinking, ‘This may take a little while, but he’s got some things you can’t teach. If we can get him stronger, get him matured, then he’s going to be really good,’” Spradlin said. “His very first individual workout we matched him up against our two returning big guys. You’d have thought that he would have his hands full, but he held his own and proved that he’s got a great feel for the game, a great skill set. From that point on, he bought into our vision.”
As the season approached, Broome was still viewed as a bit of a project that the Eagles could bring along slowly under the tutelage of veterans. That plan was upended rather quickly.
‘We’ve really got something here’
Tyzhaun Claude was on track to be the centerpiece of Morehead’s offense this year following a standout freshman season in which the 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward was the team’s third-leading scorer and top rebounder. The plan was for Broome to provide depth in the post off the bench. Then, on Nov. 11, Claude’s sophomore season ended before it began when he tore an ACL in practice.
The Eagles could no longer afford to slow-play Broome’s development. He was thrown straight into the fray, and it quickly became clear the kid from Florida was up to the challenge.
In Morehead’s season-opening loss at Kentucky, Broome scored 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting and grabbed a team-high five rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. Four days later, he started in the Eagles’ home opener against Arkansas State and posted his first career double-double. Broome scored 25 points on 11-for-17 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds to go along with five blocks, leading the team to a 69-61 victory. At that point, Spradlin knew Broome was ready to shoulder the burden of stardom.
“We were walking off the court and we were like, ‘Wow, we’ve really got something here.’ That Arkansas State game was a pretty pivotal moment. We knew we had something special then,” Spradlin said. “He’s been getting better every day. It’s been fun to watch his maturation process.”
‘I love winning’
Broome was a bit up-and-down on offense in the weeks following his breakout performance, failing to reach double-digit scoring in five of Morehead’s next eight games. But after a two-point outing in the Eagles’ win over Tennessee Tech on Jan. 7, he hit a new gear.
Broome has scored in double figures for 10 straight games — three times going for 20 or more — and added five more double-doubles to his resume. In the rematch at Tennessee Tech, he poured in 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting and had 13 rebounds.
On Monday, Broome earned his sixth Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Week nod. On Thursday, he had game-highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Eagles knocked off Tennessee State 79-66 to tie the program record of 12 straight wins. Broome leads the team in scoring (12.8 points per game) and rebounding (7.9) and is on pace to challenge Morehead legend Kenneth Faried’s OVC record for most rebounds by a freshman.
Asked what’s been his favorite accomplishment this season, Broome demonstrated humility.
“It’s nothing individual. Honestly, it’s this win streak,” he said. “I love winning, and I love that we’re going out there and handling our business.”
Broome is a big part of the reason Morehead State (16-6 overall, 13-2 OVC) rebounded from a 1-4 start and currently sits second in the OVC standings, owning control of its fate in the chase for a conference title. The Eagles are two games behind the Belmont Bruins, whom they face on the road in Nashville on Saturday. Morehead closes the regular season at home against Belmont on Feb. 27.
Win their final five games, and the Eagles will be OVC champions for the first time since 2003. Should that come to pass, a quick-study freshman big man overlooked by countless high-profile programs will have played a major role.
“We knew Johni was going to be a good player. We didn’t know exactly how soon that was going to happen,” Spradlin said. “We needed Johni to grow up in a hurry, and he did. He answered the call and he’s been playing fantastic.”
Saturday
Morehead State at Belmont
When: 5 p.m.
Live video broadcast: ESPN Plus (subscription required)
OVC standings
Belmont 15-0 (21-1)
Morehead State 13-2 (16-6)
Eastern Kentucky 9-4 (15-5)
Jacksonville State 9-5 (13-7)
Austin Peay 8-6 (12-8)
SIUE 6-6 (8-10)
Murray State 6-7 (9-9)
Southeast Missouri 5-8 (7-12)
UT Martin 5-10 (7-12)
Eastern Illinois 4-11 (7-15)
Tennessee Tech 2-12 (2-19)
Tennessee State 2-13 (3-15)
This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 11:09 AM.
